The Life of Major-General Ariel Sharon.

Ariel Sharon, born in Israel 1928 in Mlal village.

In 1942 he joined the "Hagana" brigade.

When the Israeli war of independence broke in 1948 he was the commander of an infantry squad, in the Alexandroni division. He then later became a company commander. During the war, Sharon was injured in Latrun in the battle to open the path to besieged Jerusalem. At the end of the war he was appointed head of the "Golani" unit.

In 1950 he participated in a battalion commander course.

From 1951-1952 he served as an intelligence officer of the central and northern command.

In 1952 he studied in the Hebrew university in Jerusalem, and became the commander of the infantry reserves battalion.

In 1953 Ariel Sharon was summoned back to full military service, to found unit 101 and command over it. The unit was established in order to fight the increasing Palestinian terror from Yehuda and Shomron, which were under Jordanian rule at the time, and from the Gaza strip, which was under Egyptian rule. Ever since the independence war. Unit 101 managed to radically change the fighting level of the IDF, all through a short period of time.

In 1954 unit 101 merged with the 890 paratrooper battalion, and Sharon was appointed the new battalion's commander. The battalion's main burden was to perform the retribution actions against terrorist bases, Palestinian terror, and the Arab countries which operated that terror or gave aid to it. During a raid on an Egyptian outpost near Dir-Al-Balach in June 1954, Sharon was injured a second time.

In 1956 Sharon was appointed the commander of the 202 paratrooper unit that bore, almost entirely by itself, the burden of the retribution activity. Under his command the unit formed the high standards and fighting norms of the IDF for many years. During the "Kadesh" operation Sharon commander over the paratrooper unit that started the operation and that operated in the home front of the Egyptian military in Sinai.

In 1957 Sharon left Israel to study in the commanders & staff academy in the UK.

In the years 1958-1962 Sharon filled a variety of positions, among them were the chief of the infantry school, the chief of the infantry division and the chief of the armored forces division. While in service Sharon also completed his studies and received a law graduate degree from the Hebrew university in Jerusalem.

In 1964 Sharon was appointed head of the northern command headquarters and remained in that position during the continuing confrontation with the Syrian forces that tried to divert water from the Jordan River. These hostile actions by the Syrians were done in order to prevent Israel from using most of the Jordan River's water.

In 1966 he was appointed head of the training department of the General Staff and was promoted to major-general.

In 1967, during the six day war, major-general Sharon commanded over the 138 armored reserve division, which broke through the main Egyptian fortification in Sinai, in the Um Katef and Abu Agila regions. After some major armored forces battles in the center of Sinai, the division reached the banks of the Suez Canal. The complex infiltration battle, that became known as a military classic, involved an integrated night battle that involve armored forces, infantry, helicopter paratroopers and other aiding forces.

In 1969 Ariel Sharon was appointed major-general of the south command, a position that included the commanding of the Suez Canal front during the War of Attrition with Egypt.

In 1970 major-general Sharon initiated an operation that led to the elimination of the terror in the Arava district.

In 1971, during his role as the major-general of the southern command, Sharon headed and successfully mastered the initiative to eliminate that "Ashaf" terror infrastructure in the Gaza district. This resulted in the calming of the area for many years, while having little impact on the civilian population.

In July 1973 Sharon retired from the IDF in order to work on his farm in the Negev. He also pioneered the formation of the "Likud", which led to the political upheaval in 1977.

On the 6th of October 1973, a mere three months after his release from the IDF, the war of Yom Kipur is broken. Sharon was called as a reserves officer to head the 143 armored reserves division. After some difficult holding battles, his division managed to cross the Suez Canal, in an integrated night battle that was both complicated and gruesome, and which took the lives of hundreds of the division's warriors. The action determined the outcome of the war and eventually led to the peace treaty with Egypt.

In 1974 Sharon was first elected as a Member of Knesset and of the foreign affairs and defense committee. At the end of that year he resigned from the Knesset and returned to his farm in order to be able to keep his appointed position as commander of the armored forces reserves, a position that was prohibited for a Knesset member.

In 1975 he was appointed advisor of PM Yitzhak Rabin for defense matters.

In 1977 he was appointed farming minister in the first government lead by Menachem Begin, and became the member of the committee on matters of defense and the chairman of the committee for settlement affairs. In addition, he pioneered the agricultural corporation with Egypt.

During 1977-1981 He initiated and performed a vast settlement plan in Yehuda, Shomron, the Gaza strip, hilltop settlement in the Galilee, and additional settlements in the Negev and Ramat Hagolan. During this program (while continuing to serve as defense minister, and forming many "Nachal" outposts), 230 settlements, hilltop settlement and "Nachal" settlements were built in seven years. This program had a central role in the Israeli defense strategy and in the national strategic goals of Israel. Even today the program, in Yehuda and Shomron, is used as the basis for the drawing the fundamental national interests map of Israel, and a corner stone in negotiations with the Palestinians.

In 1981 Sharon was appointed minister of defense, and served in this role during the Lebanon war, that led to the annihilation of the infrastructure of Ashaf organization in Lebanon, and to the deportation of its headquarters from Beirut. He managed to renew the relations with African countries, which were discontinued after the Yom Kipur war. Following his initiative, in November 1981 the first mutual understanding memo for strategic cooperation was signed with the US, and the defense relations with other countries and Israel were also broadened. He helped the immigration of thousands of Ethiopian Jews, who managed, after considerable difficulty, to reach Sudan.

During 1984-1990 he acted as the minister of trade and industry for the Likud Government and was member of the defense ministers committee.

In 1985 he signed a free trade treaty with the US.

During 1990-1992 he acted as minister of housing and construction, member of the defense ministers committee and chairman of the immigration and integration committee. With the fall of the Soviet Union, and the arrival of the Russian immigration waves, he initiated and followed through the construction of immigrant housing centers throughout Israel. During this time 144 thousand apartment were constructed, and 22 thousand more were renovated, which was a record in construction in the history of Israel.

His action resulted in the fact that thousand of families and immigrants that previously lived in tents and in the streets were given a proper roof over their heads. During this operation the "star settlements" were formed.

During 1992-1996 Sharon was the member of the Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee, as well as the member in the deputy intelligence committee.

In 1996 he was appointed minister of national infrastructure and a member of the small cabinet. He was the chairman for the ministry committee for the development of Bedouin matters. He was appointed by the government to form joint factories with Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinians. In addition, he participated in the negotiation process with the Palestinian authority.

In 1998 Ariel Sharon was appointed minister of foreign affairs and was in charge of heading the talks for a fixed settlement with the Palestinian authority. In addition, he continued to serve as the minister of national infrastructures. After his appointing, Minister Sharon immediately joined the PM at that time, Benjamin Netanyahu, to head the Israeli delegation for the middle settlement with the Palestinians in Y Mansion.

During that time Sharon had a major influence on negotiations and was one of the planners and designers of the treaty framework and its content. He set the principal of reciprocity as the most vital part for fulfillment of the Palestinian obligations in the implementation of the treaty, which was signed in Washington at the end of October 1998. During his service as the foreign affairs minister, he vividly acted in many channels of actions, through meetings with heads of the US government, heads of the European Union, Palestinian leaders and government officials of the Arab world, all to advance the peace process.

In May 1999, following the change in the government and the election of Ehud Barak as the Israeli PM, Sharon was called by his colleagues and members of his party to serve as a temporary chairman of the Likud, in order to unite and revitalize the party and prepare it for the next election.

In September 1999 he was elected to be chairman of the Likud and candidate for the Israeli government.

In February 2001 he was elected to be PM of Israel.

In January 2003 he was elected as chairman of the Likud for the second time, and as the PM if Israel. His government led a fearless struggle against terror, advanced the international position o Israel, and initiated various economic, social and education reforms. During this term the disengagement program was also succesfully implemented.

In November 2005 Sharon quit the Likud to form the "Kadima" movement.

In January 4th 2006 Ariel Sharon was hospitalized in Hadassah, Jerusalem after suffering from a major stroke. In light of Ariel Sharon's medical state, his authorities as PM were handed to his deputy, Ehud Olmert, who also took his candidacy for the "Kadima" movement.