Amir Peretz
| Amir Peretz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of birth | 9 March 1952 |
| Place of birth | Boujad, Morocco |
| Year of aliyah | 1956 |
| Knessets | 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Faction represented in Knesset | |
| 1988–1992 | Alignment |
| 1992–1999 | Labor Party |
| 1999–2004 | One Nation |
| 2004–2012 | Labor Party |
| 2013–2015 | Hatnuah |
| 2015– | Zionist Union |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2006–2007 | Minister of Defence |
| 2006–2007 | Deputy Prime Minister |
| 2013–2014 | Minister of Environmental Protection |
| Other roles | |
| 2005–2006 | Leader of the Opposition |
Amir Peretz (Hebrew: עמיר פרץ; born Armand Peretz on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Zionist Union. He previously served as Minister of Defence, leader of the Labor Party and Minister of Environmental Protection.
Peretz is the former chairman of the Histadrut trade union federation and defeated Shimon Peres in the primary elections for the Labor leadership on 9 November 2005. He led the Labor Party to a second place showing in the 2006 elections and became Defense Minister on 4 May 2006. He was defeated by Ehud Barak for the Labor leadership on 12 June 2007 and resigned from the cabinet. He joined the Hatnuah party in December 2012, before rejoining the Labor Party in September 2015.
Peretz was born as Armand Peretz in Boujad, Morocco, on 9 March 1952 during French colonial rule. His father David was head of the Jewish community in Boujad. He worked as an accountant and at a petrol station. The family emigrated to Israel when Morocco won independence in 1956. They were settled in the development town of Sderot, where Peretz lived until the age of 18. He went to high school in a nearby kibbutz.
He served in the Israel Defense Forces as the brigade ordnance officer of the 202nd paratroopers brigade and reached the rank of captain. On 22 April 1974, Peretz was badly wounded as a result of an accident at the Mitla Pass. He spent a year in the hospital recuperating. After leaving the hospital, he bought a farm in the village of Nir Akiva. Still in a wheelchair, he began growing vegetables and flowers for export. During this period he met his wife Ahlama and they married. They have four children.
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