He was first elected to the 12th Knesset in 1988, and served as Likud chairman from 1988 to 1993. He lost his seat in the 1992 elections, but returned to the Knesset following the 1996 elections. Reelected in 1999, he was appointed Minister of Communications in March 2001, serving until February 2003, when he was elected Knesset Speaker following the 2003 elections. During his term as speaker, he was criticized for breaking the tradition of political neutrality of the post; he was one of Ariel Sharons harshest critics regarding the disengagement plan, and had a public confrontation with Aharon Barak, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, concerning the courts authority to declare legislation illegal.[3] Rivlin was reelected in 2006 and 2009. He ran in the 2007 election for President as the Likud candidate. He withdrew after the first round of voting when it became clear that Kadima MK Shimon Peres had sufficiently broad support to inevitably win in a run-off. In the 2014 presidential election, Rivlin defeated Meir Sheetrit in a run-off. On 30 March 2009, the Knesset voted Knesset Member Rivlin as speaker with a majority of 90 votes of the 120.[4] For his first official visit as Knesset Speaker, he chose the Arab-Israeli town of Umm el-Fahm, just south of the Galilee. He was accompanied by MKs Uri Orbach (The Jewish Home) and Afu Agbariyah (Hadash), a resident of the city.[5][6] Citing Pope Benedict XVIs previous service in the Nazi German military service, Rivlin criticized the Popes address at Israels Yad Vashem memorial.[7] President Rivlin was elected as Israels 10th president on 10 June 2014 receiving the support of 63 MKs in a runoff vote against MK Meir Sheetrit. Rivlin was sworn in on 24 July 2014 replacing Shimon Peres.[8] Upon his election as the 10th president, he immediately ceased being a member of the Israeli Parliament.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 09:06:57 +0000
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