Peres sworn in as Israeli president | World News - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Peres sworn in as Israeli president

AFP | By, Jerusalem
Jul 16, 2007 04:58 AM IST

Israeli elder statesman and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres is sworn in as president.

Israeli elder statesman and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres was sworn in as president on Sunday, crowning an unparalleled career lasting more than half a century.

HT Image
HT Image

"I swear to be loyal to the state of Israel and its laws and to carry out my duties with conscience," Peres pledged before parliament, bidding goodbye to a chamber where he has sat for 48 years.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Peres took the oath of office less than three weeks shy of his 84th birthday, replacing disgraced Moshe Katsav in the largely ceremonial post for a seven-year term as Israel's ninth president.

His landslide election as president by the Knesset was the first vote for a top post that he has won.

"Shimon Peres is one of the most important figures in Israel over the past 60 years," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, leader of Peres's centrist Kadima party, said at the weekly cabinet meeting ahead of the ceremony.

"He is a person who is welcomed and known in the entire world as a representative of the state of Israel, and he is one of the best-known figures in the world."

Peres's landslide win in parliament on June 13 marked a triumph that laid to rest the ghosts of seven years past, when he famously lost the same ballot to the rightwing Katsav despite being the overwhelming favourite.

His election was the crowning triumph in a record-breaking career of a man who has held just about every major office in the past five decades and who has a political pedigree that is second to none.

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away! - Login Now!

Get Latest World News along with Latest News from India at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On