Ehud Barak was born on February 12, 1942 at Kibbutz Mishmar HaSharon. He is the eldest of 4 sons born to Esther (nee Godin) and Israel Brog. His parents, pioneer immigrants to Israel in the early 1930s, were among the founding members of their kibbutz.
In 1968 Barak received his B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Physics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and in 1978 he completed his M.Sc. in Economic Engineering Systems at Stanford University in California.
In 1959 he enlisted in the IDF and in the course of his military service took the Hebrew name Barak.
In 1995 Lieutenant General Ehud Barak completed an illustrious 36-year career in the Israel Defense Forces. Among his many and varied posts were the following:
• Recon. Unit Commander in the Six Day War
• Commander of the Elite Commando Unit
• Tank Company Commander in the War of Attrition (1969-1970)
• Tank Battalion Commander in the 1973 Yom Kippur War
• Tank Brigade Commander (1974-5)
• Colonel in the Operations and Intelligence branches of the General Headquarters
• Brigadier General (1979)
• Tank Division Commander (Reserve - 1978, Regular - 1980)
• Major General - Chief of the Planning Division (1982)
• Deputy Commander of IDF Forces in the Beka’a Valley during the 1982 “Peace of Galilee” Operation
• Chief of Military Intelligence (1983-86)
• Chief of Central Command (1986-87)
• Deputy Chief of Staff (1987-1991)
Colonel Barak was a key architect in the June 1976 Entebbe Operation for the rescue of passengers on the Air-France aircraft hijacked by terrorists and forced to land at the Entebbe airport in Uganda.
In the course of his military service, Ehud Barak was awarded the “Distinguished Service Medal” and four additional citations for outstanding courage and valor, making him the most decorated soldier in the history of the Israel Defense Forces.
On April 1, 1991, Lt. General, Ehud Barak was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. In this capacity, he was involved in the negotiation and implementation of the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan – an especially meaningful event for Barak in light of his warm relationship with the late King Hussein.
From the May 1994 signing of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement (actualization of the 1993 Declaration of Principles - Oslo A), General Barak was responsible for the implementation of security arrangements and the redeployment of troops in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. During this period, he also played a key role in the Israel-Syria talks and in this framework and met with his Syrian counterpart General Shihabi.
On January 1, 1995, Ehud Barak retired from the IDF and in July of that year was called upon by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to be Minister of the Interior in his government.
After the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin, in November 1995, Mr. Barak was assigned the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Shimon Peres government.
In May 1996, Ehud Barak was elected to the 14th Knesset on the Labor Party ticket and was a leading member of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. Barak was elected Labor Party Chairman in June 1997, and in May 1999 elections, with an overwhelming majority, was elected the 10th Prime Minister of the State of Israel and it’s Minister of Defense.
During his tenure, Prime Minister Barak led Israel out of a prolonged recession into an economic boom, with 5.9% annual growth, record foreign investments, near-zero inflation, a halved deficit and significantly decreased external debt. The core of the Barak government’s efforts was devoted to the peace process: In May 2000 Prime Minister Barak ordered the withdrawal of the IDF from Southern Lebanon, ending 18 tragic and bloody years of Israel’s presence there. He led far-reaching efforts to negotiate peace agreements, first with Syria and later with the Palestinian Authority, with the active participation of President Bill Clinton and his administration. Regrettably, these negotiations did not result in the breakthroughs necessary to conclude final agreements.
Following the renewed outbreak of hostilities with the Palestinians and the deadlock in negotiations, Prime Minister Barak resigned. Ariel Sharon (Likud) won the ensuing elections, and Prime Minister Barak took a leave of absence from the political arena.
Prime Minister Barak is married to Nava and is the father of three daughters: Michal (30, married to Ziv Lotenberg), Yael (26), and Anat (20). He enjoys playing the piano and jogging.