November 27 1874 – November 9 1952 Dates of office: February 17 1949 – November 9 1952

Chaim Weizman was born on November 27, 1874, in Motol, Belarus. He was the third of 12 children. He studied at a Yeshiva until the age of 11, and was then sent to the school for sciences in the neighboring town of Pinsk, where he excelled, especially in chemistry. The Jewish-Zionist students who studied with him were ideologically influenced by Ahad Ha'am, and some of them, including Leo Motzkin, Nahman Sirkin and Shmaryahu Levin later became Zionist leaders. Chaim Weizman participated in the Second Zionist Congress in 1898, and in that same year studied at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland to complete his doctoral studies. He received his Ph.D. one year later, at the age of 25. In 1904, he immigrated to Great Britain, and worked as a research assistant at the University of Manchester. Weizman spent 10 years in Manchester and his status at the university and in the Zionist movement strengthened. In 1906, Chaim Weizman married Vera Katzman, a medical student from Russia.

During World War I, Weizman developed a process for the extraction of acetone from corn. The discovery, which contributed greatly to the British war efforts, brought him into contact with senior officials in the British Government, including Winston Churchill, Lloyd George and Lord Balfour. Weizman became the spokesman for British Zionism. His efforts led to the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, in which the British Government expressed its sympathy for the Zionist cause in the Land of Israel. The Balfour Declaration was included in the mandate Great Britain received for the Land of Israel by the League of Nations in 1922. In 1918, Weizman headed the Board of Delegates, a delegation to the Land of Israel, intended to advise the local authorities about the Jewish population in the Land of Israel and the establishment of a National Home. That same year, he laid the cornerstone for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and met with Emir Faisal who promised to support the Zionist cause. In 1919, Weizman participated in the Paris Peace Conference.

In 1921, Weizman was elected President of the World Zionist Federation, but resigned in 1930, to protest publication of Lord Passfield's White Paper. Weizman was not re-elected in 1931 to the 17th Zionist Congress, but was re-elected President in 1935. He spent these years dedicated to promoting the Zionist movement and its goals. In 1945, he lost his eldest son Michael, who was a pilot in the Royal Airforce.

During the 22^nd Zionist Conference, held in Basel in 1946, Chaim Weizman resigned. However, his connections and influence were essential, and he appeared before UNSCOP (the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine). In 1947, he traveled to the United States to exert his influence, and thus became the originator of two additional accomplishments: preventing isolation of the Negev from the territory provided in the partition plan, and ensuring the immediate recognition of the State of Israel after its establishment by the United States. The temporary Government of Israel, which was formed following the announcement of the Founding of Israel, decided to appoint Weizman as president of the temporary State Council. After the first elections in Israel, Chaim Weizman was chosen to serve as President of the State, and was sworn in on February 17, 1949. His house in Rehovot became the official Presidential Residence. In April 1949, he traveled to the United States on a very successful visit. He raised considerable funds for the Weizman Institute, an academic institute for scientific research, which was inaugurated in November 1949, during the festivities on the occasion of his 75^th birthday. In 1950, his health began to fail, and his activities were severely curtailed.

On November 25, 1951, Weizman was re-elected to serve a second term in accordance with the new law, linking the President's tenure with elections for the Knesset. The ailing Weizman had to be sworn in at his home in Rehovot.

Chaim Weizman died in office on November 9, 1952, and, as he had requested, was buried in his garden, which later became part of the Weizman Institute.