Shimon Peres (nŽ Persky) was born in Vishneva, Poland, on August 21, 1923. He emigrated 
to Palestine with his family in 1934, attended high school in Tel Aviv for three years, and 
graduated from the Ben-Shemen agricultural youth village. He attended night school for two 
years at the New School for Social Research in New York City, followed by a four month 
management program at Harvard University. He is a former member of Kibbutz Alumot, 
where he resided briefly, and has served in a wide range of government and political party 
posts in Israel for over fifty years. He was director general of the Defense Ministry from 
1953-1959 and has been a member of the Knesset since 1959, during which period he has 
held numerous ministerial, sub-ministerial and party positions. For many years, he served as 
a Vice-President of the Socialist International.

Mr. Peres was defeated in five prime ministerial elections, although he twice served as Prime 
Minister of Israel, once for approximately six months following the assassination of Prime 
Minister Rabin and once in a rotation agreement with Prime Minister Shamir. Mr. Peres was 
defeated by Moshe Katsav in the July 2000 election by the Knesset for President of Israel. He 
served as Minister of Regional Cooperation in the government of Prime Minister Barak and 
currently serves as Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel under Prime Minister 
Sharon.

The quotations have been compiled primarily from major newspapers, journals, and 
TVinterviews, from speeches published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from Peres' book 
"Battling for Peace" (Random House, New York, 1995).