Moshe Sharet
Second Israeli Prime Minister

Moshe Shertok (Sharett) was born on October 15, 1894, in the Ukraine. His father, a member of the 'Bilu', immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1882 but returned to Russia. In 1906, Sharett returned to the Land of Israel, with his family, and settled for two years in the Arab village of Ein Saniya, north of Ramallah, where Sharett learned Arabic. In 1908, the family moved to Tel Aviv. After completing his studies at the Herzliya Gymnasium as a member of the first graduating class, Sharett moved to Istanbul to study law to train himself in order to represent the Jewish settlement movement to the Ottoman authorities. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Sharett returned to the Land of Israel and became a member of the Ottoman movement. In 1916, he joined the Ottoman army, completed an officers course and, being fluent in Turkish, German and Arabic, served as a translator on the Macedonian and South-Trans-Jordanian frontlines. In 1919, Sharett served on the Delegate Committee with Yehoshua Hankin. In 1921 he went to London to study political science.

In 1925, upon the establishment of the 'Davar' daily newspaper, Sharett was asked to serve as Deputy Chief-Editor and, in 1929, as Editor of its English weekly edition. In 1931, Haim Arlozorov, Director of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, asked Sharett to serve as his assistant. After Arlozorov was murdered in 1933, Sharett was elected to replace him. As Head of the Political Department, Sharett conducted negotiations with the British authorities. He devoted himself to the settlement effort, including, inter alia, the political planning of the 'Homa U'migdal' enterprise, which facilitated the establishment of dozens of settlements in the Land of Israel, and served as a basis for the future borders of the State of Israel. In addition, Sharett acted to construct the Tel-Aviv port after the Jaffa and Haifa ports were blockaded by Arab stevedores during the Arab rebellion of 1936 to 1939, and to establish the 'Hebrew Settlement Police Force', which served, in British uniform, as a legal offshoot of the 'Hagana'. He also administered and organized the appearance and testimony of settlement leaders before boards of inquiry which came to the Land of Israel from Great Britain, the United States and the United Nations.

Among Sharett's greatest accomplishments was the encouraging of volunteers to the British Army during World War II, which resulted in the establishment of the Fighting Jewish Brigade. During the war, Sharett coordinated the secret cooperation between the Jewish settlement and the British army. In this framework, Hagana soldiers carried out secret military actions, including dropping parachutists from the Jewish settlements into Occupied Europe. After the war, when the struggle between the Jewish settlements and the British rulers escalated, the British searched for weapons and carried out mass arrests. On June 29, 1946, 'Black Saturday', Sharett was the most senior among those arrested. He was held in the Latrun detention camp for four months, when, under pressure, Great Britain put the problem of the Land of Israel before the United Nations. Moshe Sharett played a central role in the political struggle, and on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the partition plan.

With the establishment of the State, Sharett was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and organized the efforts to accept Israel as a member of the United Nations, and strengthen Israel's ties in the international community. He shaped the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was an active participant in achieving an agreement with West Germany regarding reparations, which he signed on behalf of Israel in 1952. The establishment of the State of Israel raised the question of security and foreign policy with regard to its neighbors. At this stage the cooperation which had existed between Minister of Foreign Affairs Sharett, and Prime Minister and Minister of Defense David Ben-Gurion since 1933 started to deteriorate. Ben-Gurion and senior IDF officers supported retributory military action to prevent infiltration, and Sharett was wary of this approach, fearing an escalation of the conflict.

On January 26, 1954, Moshe Sharett was appointed Prime Minister following the resignation of Ben-Gurion at the end of 1953. Sharett also continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The failure of the IDF intelligence unit, which acted in Egypt in July 1954 without the knowledge of Prime Minister Moshe Sharett (the "Nasty Business"), led to the dismissal of Minister of Defense Pinchas Lavon, and the return of Ben-Gurion to the Ministry of Defense. However, the rift between Prime Minister Sharett, who supported a policy of restraint, and Minister of Defense Ben-Gurion widened. In 1955, David Ben-Gurion was elected Prime Minister. Moshe Sharett continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abed Al Nasser, enabled military cooperation between France, Great Britain and Israel against Egypt. Fearing that Moshe Sharett would object, Ben-Gurion decided to force Sharett to resign as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Sharett resigned on June 18, 1956, when he realized that his party would back Ben-Gurion. In October 1956, the IDF conquered the Sinai. In light of the atmosphere in Israel, Sharett concluded that his path back to the political arena was blocked. In 1957, he assumed on the role of Director of "Am Oved", the country's largest publisher, and in 1961 was appointed Chairman of the Jewish Agency. In his final year, Sharett gave one of his most influential and memorable speeches (the "Wheelchair Speech"). When, during a 'Mapai' convention in 1965, Ben-Gurion demanded the appointment of a governmental board of inquiry to investigate the "Nasty Business", Sharett suggested that Ben-Gurion listen to the will of the people who had had enough of that affair, and advised him not to force his opinion on the general public with threats of retirement. Most conference delegates voted against Ben-Gurion, who quit and founded his own party. The rift between Sharett and Ben-Gurion was never healed.

Moshe Sharett died on July 7, 1965, while serving as Chairman of the Jewish Agency.

His books include: "Oar in Asia" (1957), "At the Time of Nations" (1958), "Booklet of Poetry Translations" (1965), "Fading lights" (196), "Political Diary" (A-E, 1968-79), "Personal Diary" (A-H, 1978), "We'll meet, and maybe not" (1998).

This biography was taken from The Israeli Prime Minister's office website.