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 Friday Netanyahu has served 2,796 days — or seven years and 239 days — besting Ben-Gurion’s 2,790-day record. David 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.
When examining statistics of Israel’s prime ministers it shows that Israel has one of the highest turnover rates of leaders in any Western Democracy. Since the early 1990s there has been Rabin, Peres, Netanyahu, Barak, Sharon, Olmert, and Netanyahu again. It is rare for Israeli Prime Minister’s to hold office for such a long time.
In order for Netanyahu to break David ben Gurion’s record for total time in office, he will have to serve another 967 days. And 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 to break the record.
When comparing Netanyahu’s time in office to other Western Democracies, we see that Margaret Thatcher served as Britain’s prime minister for 4,226 days from 1979-1990; German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, who has been in office since 2005, has served for 4,021 days and counting; and U.S. President Barack Obama has served for 2,866 days, but is limited by term limits. Swedish prime minister Tage Erlander, who is the longest running prime minister in history, 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.
We congratulate Benjamin Netanyahu and pray every blessing on him as he continues to serve his country.
Sources: Times of Israel / The Israeli Democracy Institute
