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Indirect presidential elections were held in Israel on 2 June 2021.[1] The President of Israel is elected by members of the Knesset for a single seven-year term. Incumbent President Reuven Rivlin,[2] who had been in office since 24 July 2014, was ineligible for re-election.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial position, wielding little real power.[3] The president's main role is meeting the leaders of each party following legislative elections to discuss nominations for prime minister, and giving a mandate to try and form a government to the candidate they deem most likely to succeed.
The election was notable for several firsts. Namely, neither of the candidates was a sitting member of the Knesset, and both ran as independents. Furthermore, the election of Peretz would have made her the first non-interim female head of state of Israel, while Herzog's victory made him the first child of a former president to be elected president.[4]
Isaac Herzog was elected the 11th President of Israel with 87 Knesset members voting for him,[5] which was the biggest majority a candidate has ever won.[6] The prior record was 86 votes, which was held by Zalman Shazar (1968), Yitzhak Navon (1978), and Shimon Peres (2007, in the second round). In all three cases, the candidates receiving 86 votes were unopposed (in the case of Peres, his opponents dropped out for the second round).[7]
Herzog was inaugurated as president on 7 July.[5] He was sworn in at a ceremony at the Knesset, where he took the oath of office on the same 107-year-old Bible that his father Chaim Herzog used when he assumed the presidency in 1983.[8]
- ^ "Next president to be picked on June 2 — Knesset". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Reuven Rivlin is elected Israel's 10th president". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "The Presidency in Israel". President of Israel (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Herzog, Peretz to face off in presidential race in Knesset". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Knesset vote for President Rivlin's successor set for June 2". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Bitton, Avihay. "יצחק (בוז'י) הרצוג הוא הנשיא הבא של מדינת ישראל | חדר מצב". www.mazav.co.il. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Previous Presidential Elections". knesset.gov.il. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Sharon, Itamar; Winer, Stuart (7 July 2021). "Herzog to take office as Israel's 11th president in a day of pomp and ceremony". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 July 2021.