Benjamin Netanyahu is the prime minister of Israel. He assumed office on 31 March 2009. He also serves as a member of Knesset (Israeli parliament) and minister of public diplomacy and diaspora Affairs. Netanyahu, who has a rich political history, had previously served as the prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 after which he temporarily retired from politics following his defeat to Ehud Barak. However, the fall of the Barak administration rekindled his political ambitions and he returned to politics, eventually becoming the prime minister again in 2009. He began his career with the ‘Israel Defense Forces’ during the ‘Six-Day War’ and participated in several missions, including ‘Operation Inferno,’ ‘Operation Gift,’ and ‘Operation Isotope.’ Over the course of his distinguished military career, he fought in numerous wars and took part in ‘Special Forces’ raids. Post his military career, he resumed his education at ‘Massachusetts Institute of Technology’ and eventually entered politics in Israeli. He held a number of ambassadorship positions, including that of being the Israeli ambassador to the ‘United Nations’ before being elected to the Knesset as a Likud member. He has also authored several books in Hebrew and English, some of which have been translated to other languages.