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| EHUD BARAK | |
 February 2001 
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Ehud Barak, head of Israel's left-leaning Labor Party, is running for re-election to the seat he won in May 1999. |
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A decorated war hero elected on the promise of peace and security, Barak was seen as the successor to Labor's assassinated leader Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In relations with the Palestinians, Barak has been more willing than any prime minister in Israeli history to discuss serious concessions. Issues that once could not even be mentioned -- such as the concept of a shared Jerusalem -- have actually been put on the negotiating table. In a recent radio address, Barak endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, putting forth a vision of "two nations for two peoples." But public enthusiasm for Barak has waned in the past year. Extended rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians have failed to produce an agreement and some Israelis oppose the concessions Barak offered, accusing him of "giving away" the heritage of a Jewish state. A protracted uprising by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza further eroded Barak's popularity and drove the death toll above 370. Barak lost his parliament majority in July as his governing coalition collapsed. Then, seeking what he called a referendum on peace, Barak suddenly resigned from his post in December in a political maneuver to trigger a special election for prime minister set for Feb. 6. Like his Likud Party opponent Ariel Sharon, Barak comes from a strong military background. Born in 1942 to eastern European immigrants in Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'sharon, Barak joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1959 and rose to become Israel's most decorated soldier. After his initial training, Barak joined an elite army unit and reached the rank of commander before he was 30. Benjamin Netanyahu -- the man Barak would unseat in 1999 --- was one of his officers in an anti-terrorist unit. In a famous 1972 incident, Barak planned and led a raid freeing all 97 hostages aboard a plane hijacked by Palestinian guerrillas. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Barak was a reconnaissance group commander, and he served as a tank battalion commander on the southern front in Sinai during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In 1978 Barak earned a masters degree in economic systems engineering from Stanford University. He earned an undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from Jerusalem's Hebrew University. In 1982 Barak served as deputy commander of the Israeli forces in Lebanon and later moved on to several high military posts. He headed the intelligence branch at the IDF general headquarters, and served as commander of the IDF central command and deputy chief of staff. In April 1991 Barak became the 14th chief of the general staff and was promoted to Israel's highest military rank, lieutenant general. Barak's work in politics was also an outgrowth of his military career. He headed Israeli redeployment in the Gaza Strip and Jericho following the 1994 Gaza-Jericho agreement with the Palestinians. He played key roles in Syrian-Israeli negotiations and in the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. For his military work, Barak has won the Distinguished Service Medal and four awards for courage and excellence. Barak's official political career began in 1995 with his appointment as Rabin's interior minister. After Rabin's assassination, Barak served under Shimon Peres as foreign minister until 1996, when he became chairman of the Labor Party and a member of the Knesset. He defeated Netanyahu in the May 1999 election to become prime minister. |
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