By Stan Goodenough
Jun 13, 2007
Shimon Peres Wednesday became the 9th President of the State of Israel.
The veteran left-wing politician - he has been in politics for more than half a century - was born Szymon Perski in Poland in 1923.
He has been prime minister, defense minister, finance minister and foreign minister, all as a member of the Labor Party.
Peres is perhaps best known for his central roles in developing Israel's nuclear deterrent and pushing forward the land-for-peace process, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat in 1994.
The 84-year-old is also known for having lost more elections than any other Israeli politician.
Seven years ago he lost the presidential nomination to Moshe Katsav.