Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and grew up in Jerusalem and the US. Returning to Israel for military service, Netanyahu volunteered for an elite commando unit in the IDF and was wounded in the field several times. He reached the rank of Captain after 6 years and then left the army to study at MIT and Harvard. After his brother Yoni was killed during the Entebbe Operation to rescue hijacked Air France passengers, Netanyahu organised conferences in Washington to fight terrorism. In 1982 he joined Israel’s diplomatic mission in the US. Two years later he was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. After his return to Israel in 1988, he was elected a Member of Knesset, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1993, Netanyahu was elected Chairman of the Likud Party and led the opposition until he was elected Prime Minister in 1996 to become Israel’s youngest Prime Minister. After serving in office for three years, he left politics to pursue business interests. From 2002 he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance under Ariel Sharon but resigned over the Gaza disengagement. When Sharon left to form Kadima, Netanyahu returned to lead Likud and served as head of the opposition in the Knesset. Although Kadima won the next elections, Netanyahu formed a coalition and was sworn in as Prime Minister in 2009. He led Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections but was unable to form a government in 2019. Netanyahu was indicted while in office and faces charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. According to law, he has had to relinquish his various ministries. As of 2020, he is Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister and has authored four books.