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WAR CRIMINAL
{{Infobox_Prime Minister
|name=Ehud Olmert <br> אהוד אולמרט;
|image=OlmertPic.jpg
|order=12th ]
|term_start =] ]<br><small>(acting PM since ] ])</small>
|term_end =
|deputy=]
|predecessor =]
|successor =
|birth_date =], ]
|birth_place =], ]
|death_date =
|death_place =
|spouse=]
|party=] }}
'''Ehud Olmert''' (] {{IPA|/ɛhud ˈolmert/}}; ]: אהוד אולמרט; born ], ]) is the 12th and current ].

Olmert became Prime Minister on ], ] <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/705050.html| year=11 April 2006| title=Cabinet approves appointment of Ehud Olmert as interim PM| first=Nir| last=Hasson| format=HTML| accessdate=2006-11-06}}</ref> but has been exercising the powers of the office since they were transferred to him on ], ] after ] suffered a severe ]. Olmert's title for that period was "Acting" Prime Minister. <ref> By Corinne Heller, ]. January 7, 2006</ref>

Previously, Olmert was the Deputy Prime Minister of ], the ], Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, and Minister responsible for the Israel Lands Administration, as well as Mayor of ]. .

==Youth and military service==
Born near ] in the British Mandate of Palestine, Ehud Olmert is a graduate of the ] with degrees in ], ] and ].

Olmert's childhood included membership in the ] and dealing with the fact that his parents were often blacklisted and discriminated against due to their affiliation with ], the opposition to the long-ruling ] party. However, by the 1970s this was proving less detrimental to one's career than during the 1950s, and Olmert succeeded in opening a successful law partnership in Jerusalem.

Olmert served with the ] in the ]. While in service he was injured and temporarily released. He underwent many treatments. Later he completed his military duties as a journalist for the IDF magazine '']''. During the ] he joined the headquarters of ] as a ]. Already a ] member, he decided to go through an ], at the age of 35, in ].

==MK and Minister==
Olmert was first elected to the ] in ] at the age of 28 and was re-elected seven consecutive times.

During ]-], he was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and has also served on the Finance, Education and Defense Budget Committees.

He served as Minister without portfolio, responsible for minority affairs (]-]), and as Minister of Health (]-]).

==Mayor of Jerusalem==
]
From ] to ], Ehud Olmert served two terms as Mayor of ], the first member of ] or its precursors to hold the position. During his term in office, he devoted himself to the initiation and advancement of major projects in the city, the development and improvement of the education system, and the development of road infrastructure. He also spearheaded the development of the ] system in Jerusalem, and the investment of millions of ] in the development of ] options for the city.

While Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert was an invited speaker at an international conflict resolution conference held in Derry in Northern Ireland. In his address, he spoke of how ''"Political leaders can help change the psychological climate which affects the quality of relationships among people."'' His speech concluded with reflections on the importance of political process in overcoming differences: ''"How are fears born? They are born because of differences in tradition and history; they are born because of differences in emotional, political and national circumstances. Because of such differences, people fear they cannot live together. If we are to overcome such fear, a credible and healthy political process must be carefully and painfully developed. A political process that does not aim to change the other or to overcome differences, but that allows each side to live peacefully in spite of their differences."''

Nevertheless, at the same time, as Mayor of Jerusalem, he himself favoured controversial housing developments for Jews only on the Mount of Olives and Ras-al Amud.

==Minister and Deputy Prime Minister==
Ehud Olmert was elected as a member of the sixteenth ] in January ]. He served as the head of the election campaign for the ] in the elections, and subsequently was the chief negotiator of the coalition agreement. Following the elections he was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor. From 2003-2004, he also served as Minister of Communications.

On ] ], Olmert was appointed as acting Finance Minister, replacing ], who had resigned in ] against the ] from the ].<ref>, ]. August 7, 2005</ref>

Olmert, who had originally opposed withdrawing from land captured in the ], and who had voted against the ] in ], is a vocal supporter of the Gaza pullout. After his appointment, Olmert said:
<blockquote>"I voted against ], I told him it was a historic mistake, how dangerous it would be, and so on and so on. Now I am sorry he is not alive for me to be able to publicly recognize his wisdom and my mistake. He was right and I was wrong. Thank God we pulled out of the Sinai."<ref> By Scott Wilson. ] Foreign Service. August 13, 2005; p. A01</ref></blockquote>

During Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's second term, Olmert was Deputy Prime Minister, and was widely viewed as Sharon's right hand man. He was a vocal supporter of government policy and was the most important ally of Sharon during the September 2005 ]. When Sharon announced his leaving the Likud and the formation of a new party, ], Olmert was one of the first to join him.

==Acting Prime Minister==
On January 4, 2006, Olmert became Acting Prime Minister of Israel as a result of the serious stroke suffered by ]. The ] took place as scheduled.

In the light of reports that Sharon may never recover to the extent of being able to resume work, Olmert was seen as likeliest person to lead ] into the elections. Under Israeli law, if Sharon was declared "permanently incapacitated" by the ], Olmert would continue as Acting Prime Minister for 100 days after which a permanent Prime Minister must be chosen. The elections, however, were due less than 100 days from the occurrence of Sharon's stroke. Since Sharon's was declared thus in April 2006, Olmert was chosen as successor to Sharon by ''Kadima''.

In the days following the stroke, Olmert met with ] and other Sharon supporters to try to convince them to stay with Kadima, rather than return to ] or, in Peres' case, ]. Peres has announced his support for Olmert, as has Justice Minister ], who is regarded as the strongest political force other than Olmert within Kadima.

On ] ], Olmert was elected Acting Chairman of Kadima and number 1 candidate in the March 28 elections.

On ] ], Ehud Olmert, in his first major policy address since becoming Israel's acting prime minister, said at the ] that he backed the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Israel would have to relinquish parts of the West Bank to maintain its Jewish majority.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.israelnewsagency.com/israelolmertherzliyaconferencedisengagement48770124.html
| title = Ehud Olmert speech given at the Herzliya Conference
| accessdate = 2006-07-25
| accessmonthday =
| accessyear =
| last = Joel
| first = Leyden
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| date =
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| format =
| work =
| publisher = Israel News Agency
| pages =
| language =
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
}}</ref>

In a number of interviews to the Media during the ] in ], Ehud Olmert introduced to the public his ].

In the ] on March 28, despite scoring a weaker-than-expected showing of 29 seats, Olmert's party, Kadima, was still the largest block in the ] and thus the first choice for assembling a coalition. In his victory speech, Olmert promised to make Israel a just, strong, peaceful and prosperous state, respecting the rights of the minorities, cherishing education, culture and science and above all&mdash;striving to achieve lasting and definite peace with the Palestinians. Olmert stated that as Israel is willing to compromise for peace, the Palestinians must be flexible in their positions as well. He stated that if the Palestinians, with ] now leading the ], refuse to recognize the State of Israel, then Israel "will take her own fate in her hands" directly, implying unilateral action. The future of the next governing coalition largely depends on the goodwill of other parties to cooperate with the newly elected prime minister.

As of Friday, ], 2006, Sharon is no longer in a temporarily incapacitated state, having been in the hospital for 100 days he is now permanently incapacitated. On April 11, the Israeli Cabinet appointed Olmert Interim Prime Minister, effective April 14, unless Sharon's health improved. As Sharon's health did not improve, Olmert became the Prime Minister of Israel on April 14.

Olmert was elected to the ] in 2006.

==Prime Minister==

On ], 2006, Olmert presented his new government to the Knesset. Olmert became Prime Minister and Minister for Welfare. The control over Welfare Ministry is expected to be given to ] if it will join the government. Olmert would, however, remain Minister of Welfare as UTJ usually prefers to manage government ministries from a Deputy Minister position.<BR>
]
On ], 2006 Olmert was invited to address a joint session of the US Congress.<ref> Complete transcript</ref> He stated that his government would proceed with ] if it could not come to agreement with the Palestinians. Olmert was the third Israeli Prime Minister to have been invited to speak at a joint session of Congress.
On ], 2006 Olmert announced he will meet ] to resume talks on the ].
<br clear="both">


Under Olmert, the policy of ambiguity on the possession by Israel of nuclear weapons remains intact. One result of this is the continued detention in Israel of the nuclear whistleblower, ], who spent eighteen years in prison in Israel after breaking confidentiality agreements and divulging to a news organization in Britain about Israel's suspected nuclear projects.

==Allegations==
In the 1970s, Olmert was rumored to be a party to a complex scheme involving well-known Jerusalem businessmen, organized crime, corrupt legislators, and retired General ]. This affair was documented in investigative journalist ]'s ''Ha'tvusa'' in ]. During the run-up to the Ze'evi libel suit, Olmert allegedly took funds from the Likud treasury for his defense fund, although his lawyers were from his own law firm, which would effectively constitute ]. {{fact}} All accusations against Olmert were eventually ].

Israeli businessman ] has been suspected of bribing both Sharon and Olmert, while he was mayor of Jerusalem, in what is known as the ].

On February 20, 2006, it was disclosed that an inquiry is being carried out on the 1999 sale and lease-back of Olmert's Jerusalem house, which allegedly was done on financial terms very favorable to Olmert, in what would amount to be an illegal campaign contribution and/or bribe.

==Family==
Ehud Olmert's wife, Aliza, is a writer of novels and theater plays, as well as an artist. It has been rumored that Aliza was a (founding) member of the Israeli left wing organization ], but this rumor is unsubstantiated. . Still, Aliza is known to be more left-leaning in her politics than her husband. She claimed to have voted for him for the first time in 2006.

The couple has four biological children and an adopted daughter. The oldest daughter, Michal, holds a Masters in ] and leads workshops in ]. Their daughter ] is a lecturer in literature at the ] and the editor of a literature series. She is a self-identified ] and lives with her partner in ]. Her parents are accepting of her sexual identity and partner. Dana is active in the ] branch of the Israeli ] organization ]. In June 2006 she attended a march in Tel Aviv protesting against the widespread killings by the IDF of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, that was part of the backdrop (through capture of Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon) for the later war against Lebanon. As a result of taking part in this protest, she was the subject of bitter right wing criticism in her home country.
Their son Shaul married an Israeli artist and lives in ]. After Shaul was through with military service, he signed a petition of the Israeli left-wing organization ]. He later became the spokesman of ], his father's favorite football team. This team is often associated with the Israeli right.
Ehud's younger son Ariel, who did not serve in the ], studies ] at the ] in ]. Shuli is their adopted daughter. She was orphaned from her mother at birth.

Olmert's father Mordechai, considered a pioneer of Israel's land settlement and a former member of the Second and Third Knessets, grew up in the Chinese city of ] where he led the local Betar youth movement. Olmert's grandfather, J.J. Olmert settled in Harbin after fleeing post World War-I Russia. In 2004, Ehud Olmert visited China and paid his respects at the tomb of his grandfather in Harbin. Olmert said that his father had never forgotten his Chinese hometown after moving to what was then Palestine, in 1933 at the age of 22. "When he died at the age of 88, he spoke his last words in Chinese," he recalled.
<!----- please either combine into the body of the article or move to wikiquotes, any combination of the two is also good ==Quotes==
"We simply cannot afford to make Israel wide again at its centre. We can't allow the Palestinians to be a couple from Ben Gurion airport in the age of shoulder-fire missiles with the capacity to shoot down jumbo jets. But that doesn't mean we must remain in every corner of the West Bank or in Gaza, where fewer than 100,000 Jews, living next to 1.3 million Palestinians, have been protected by twice as many soldiers" ---->

==References==
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==External links==
{{Commons|Ehud Olmert}}
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Revision as of 03:20, 22 August 2006

WAR CRIMINAL