Moshe Sharett (1894-1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel, serving for a little under two years, between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.
Born in Kherson, Ukraine, Sharett emigrated to Palestine in 1906. His family was one of the founders of Tel Aviv. He studied in Istanbul and attended the London School of Economics. During World War I, Sharett served in the Ottoman army as a junior officer.
Sharett was appointed head of the Jewish Agency's political department, in 1933, and became the main Zionist spokesman in contact with the British and Arabs, who sought to find a solution to the problem of Israel. His relentless efforts to create Jewish units in the British Army, during World War II, led to the establishment of the Jewish Brigade in 1944. During and after World War II, he supervised the brigade and others, who helped rescue the remnants of Jewish refugees in Europe, and bring them to Israel. Sharett was arrested during "Operation Black Saturday”, in June 1946, along with other members of the Jewish Agency.
After the establishment of the state of Israel, Sharett was elected to the First Knesset (1949) on behalf of Mapai, and was a Knesset member until 1961. He served as Israel's first Foreign Minister, from the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1948, until 1956. Between 1953–1955, following David Ben-Gurion's departure to Sde Boker, Sharett served as Prime Minister as well, but upon Ben-Gurion's return to office, he was forced to resign.
From 1960 until his death, he served as chairman of the Zionist Executive Management and the Jewish Agency. He also headed the publishing house "Am Oved" and served as chairman of "Beit Berl" Acadamy.
source: http://www.knesset.gov.il
