President of Israel
| President of the State of Israel
נשיא מדינת ישראל | |
|---|---|
 Presidential Standard | |
| Style | His Excellency (formal, diplomatic) |
| Residence | Beit HaNassi |
| Appointer | Knesset |
| Term length | Seven years, single term |
| Inaugural holder | Chaim Weizmann |
| Formation | 16 February 1949 |
| Website | Israel presidential website |
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The President of the State of Israel (Hebrew: נָשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nasi Medinat Yisra'el, or Hebrew: נָשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nasi HaMedina, literally President of the State) is the head of state of Israel.
The position is filled with executive power effectively being exercised by the Prime Minister. The current president is Isaac Herzog, who took office on 7 July 2021. Presidents are elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term and are limited to a single term.
Background[change | change source]
Any Israeli resident citizen is eligible to run for President.
The first presidential election took place on 16 February 1949, and the winner was Chaim Weizmann.
Albert Einstein, a Jew but not an Israeli citizen, was offered the presidency in 1952[1] but turned it down, stating "I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions".[2] Ehud Olmert was reported to be considering offering the presidency to another non-Israeli, Elie Wiesel, but he was said to be "very not interested".[3]
List of presidents[change | change source]
Living former presidents[change | change source]
As of 2021, there are two living former presidents:
The most recent serving and former president to die was Shimon Peres in September 2016.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Eban, Abba (17 November 1952). "(Letter reprinted online) Offering the Presidency of Israel to Albert Einstein". JewishVirtualLibrary.org. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ↑ "Albert Einstein on His Decision Not to Accept the Presidency of Israel". JewishVirtualLibrary.org. citing The Einstein Scrapbook (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ↑ Stern Stern Hoffman, Gil; Keinon, Herb (18 October 2006). "Olmert backs Peres as next president". Jerusalem Post.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Official website Archived 2002-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
