Netanyahu Now in Office Longer Than Ben-Gurion
Image by getty images
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has broken David Ben-Gurion’s record as the prime minister who served the longest consecutive term in Israel’s history.
As of Tuesday, Netanyahu had served 2,793 days — or seven years and 236 days — besting Ben-Gurion’s 2,790-day record, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first prime minister.
Netanyahu’s record includes three terms in office after he was reelected in 2009, 2013 and 2015. He previously served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999.
Netanyahu would need to serve another 970 days to break Ben-Gurion’s record of total time in office. He could potentially achieve that record if early elections are not called. The next elections are scheduled for Nov. 5, 2019, and Netanyahu would have to hang on to his office until mid-July of 2019.
By comparison, according to the Israel Democracy Institute, Margaret Thatcher served as Britain’s prime minister for 4,226 days from 1979-1990; German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, who came into office in 2005, has served for 4,018 days and counting; and U.S. President Barack Obama has served for 2,863 days, but is limited by term limits. Swedish prime minister Tage Erlander served 8,404 consecutive days while in office from 1946 to 1969.
Netanyahu ranks 62nd on the list of democratic leaders who have held office since 1945. If he remains prime minister until new elections in November 2019, he will jump to 21st place.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
