Ariel Sharon was an Israeli politician and general, who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel until he was incapacitated by a stroke. Sharon was a commander in the Israeli Army from its creation in 1948. As a soldier and then an officer, he participated prominently in the 1948 War of Independence, becoming a platoon commander in the Alexandroni Brigade and taking part in many battles, including Operation Ben Nun Alef. He was an instrumental figure in the creation of Unit 101, and the Reprisal operations, as well as in the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition, and the Yom-Kippur War of 1973. As Minister of Defense, he directed the 1982 Lebanon War. Sharon was considered the greatest field commander in Israel's history, and one of the country's greatest military strategists. After his assault of the Sinai in the Six-Day War and his encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army in the Yom Kippur War, the Israeli public nicknamed him "The King of Israel". Upon retirement, Sharon entered politics, joining the Likud, and served in a number of ministerial posts in Likud-led governments from 1977?92 and 1996?99. 

February 26th, 1928 in Kfar Malal  /  Died:   Jan 11th, 2014