Ariel Sharon (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014) was an Israeli politician of Likud and later Kadima. Sharon was Prime Minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006.

Early life
Sharon was born on February 27, 1928 in Kfar Malal, British-Palestine. Sharon was in the Israel Army for many years. He fought in numerous battles, and in 1974 he left the army as General. After leaving the army he decided to go to politics.

Politics
In 1977, he became Minister of Agriculture. In 1981 he became the Minister of Defence. In 1983, he was sent away from the government as Minister of Defence after he was found to be guilty for not preventing a massacre in Lebanon where many hundreds of civilians were killed by other civilians.

In 2001, he was elected for Prime Minister after the war between Israel and Palestine started. In 2004, he surprised many people when he said that Israel will get out of the Gaza Strip, which is the place where many Palestinian people live.

Health
In December 2005, Sharon was taken into hospital. On January 4, 2006, Sharon was again taken to the hospital. He had a big stroke (bleeding in the brain).

Rumours spread immediately of his death, though these were denied by his physicians. It was soon reported and later confirmed that Sharon was in a coma. Ehud Olmert, another member of Sharon's newly formed Kadima party, was acting Prime Minister until elections were held in Israel, after which Olmert became Prime Minister of Israel.

Death
Sharon died on 11 January 2014. He died from kidney failure and stroke complications at the hospital in Ramat Gan. He had been in a coma at the time. He was aged 85.

His state funeral was held on 13 January. He was buried in line with Jewish burial customs. It was held as soon after death as possible. The day before the funeral, Sharon's body and coffin were placed in the Knesset building for people to see. His funeral began with an official ceremony held in the Knesset chamber. Politicians from Israel and other countries attended. His funeral was then held at his family's farm in the Negev desert. Sharon was buried there beside his wife, Lily.

Leaders attended his funeral service included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

References

Other websites 

 Ariel Sharon's Biography – Detailed account of his military and political career 
 Ariel Sharon
 Ariel Sharon: Return to the Temple Mount 
 Ariel Sharon: an Israeli Caligula 
 The Sabra and Shatila Massacres (16–18 September 1982)
 Timeline of key events in Sharon's life
 Ariel Sharon Profile, ynet news lexicon
 Biography of Ariel Sharon at cnn.com 
 Prominent People – Sharon, Ariel "Arik" 
 Phonecall  – An authentic recording of Ariel Sharon talking to a soldier positioned at one of the Suez Channel bunkers at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War.

1928 births
2014 deaths
Deaths from renal failure
Deaths from stroke
Former Members of Knesset
Government ministers of Israel
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Israeli former political leaders
Israeli generals
Israeli opposition leaders
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish military people
Kadima politicians
Likud politicians
Prime Ministers of Israel
Tel Aviv University alumni