(1915-2012) A Jewish
Israeli military and political figure. Born in current-day Belarus and educated in Poland, Shamir immigrated to
Palestine in 1935. He was a member of both the militant
Irgun and Stern/
Lehi Gang (Jewish paramilitary groups that were subsumed into the Israeli army in 1948), and, upon the creation of the State of
Israel, became an active Israeli foreign intelligence agent in Europe. Shamir joined the Herut party (the precursor to the Likud party) in 1969, and was active in politics from then on. Prime Minister of Israel from 1983-1984 and 1986-1992, his government entered the
Madrid Conference talks with
Palestinian representatives, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in 1991. See "
Yitzhak Shamir, Former Prime Minister, Dies at 96," Joel Brinkley, The New York Times, June 20, 2012.