Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert bornSeptember 1945 is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006. Between his first and second stints as a cabinet member, he served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.

Olmert was born near Binyamina in the British Mandate of Palestine. According to Olmert, his parents, Bella and Mordechai Olmert, escaped persecution in Ukraine and Russia, and found sanctuary in Harbin, China. They emigrated to Israel to fulfill their dream of building a Jewish and democratic state living in peace in the land of our ancestors. His father later became a member of the Knesset for Herut. Olmerts childhood included membership in the Beitar Youth Organization and dealing with the fact that his parents were often blacklisted and alienated due to their affiliation with the Jewish militia group the Irgun. They were also part of Herut, the opposition to the longruling Mapai party. However, by the 1970s, this was proving less detrimental to ones career than during the 1950s.

Source: Wikipedia