Ezer Weizman

Ezer Weizman was born in 1924 in Tel Aviv

Ezer Weizman was born in Tel Aviv on 15 June 1924 to Yechiel and Yehudit Weizmann. His father was an agronomist, and his mother's family was among the founders of Rishon LeZion. He was a nephew of Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, and grew up in Acre and Haifa.

He attended the Hebrew Reali School. In 1942 he joined the British Army as a driver, and in 1943 he entered pilot training with the Royal Air Force in Rhodesia. He later joined the Irgun and studied aviation in London.

In the 1948 war he commanded the Negev squadron and flew in Israel's first fighter mission. He later commanded Ramat David and led the Israeli Air Force from 1958 to 1966. He then headed the General Staff Operations Directorate and retired from the army in 1969.

He entered politics with Gahal and served as Minister of Transportation. In 1977 he became Minister of Defense under Menachem Begin and took part in the talks with Egypt that led to the 1978 Camp David Accords. He left the government in 1980, and in 1984 he founded the Yahad party and served as a minister.

The Knesset elected him president in 1993 and again in 1998. After reports that he had received money from businessmen, he was not prosecuted, but he resigned in 2000. He died in Caesarea on 24 April 2005 and was buried in Or Akiva.