1983 Herut leadership election

The 1983 Herut leadership election was held on 2 September 1983^[1] to elect the leader of the Herut party. It saw the election of Yitzhak Shamir to succeed Menachem Begin. The electorate for the vote was limited to members of the party's central committee.

Background

The election came after the resignation of incumbent Herut party leader and prime minister Menachem Begin, announced on 28 August 1983.^[2] This was Herut's first leadership election.^[3]

Candidates

Yitzhak Shamir, member of the Knesset, Foreign Minister, and former speaker of the Knesset
David Levy, member of the Knesset, deputy prime minister

Withdrew

Ariel Sharon (endorsed Shamir)^[4]

Campaign

There were only five days between Begin's announcement of resignation and the leadership vote.^[5] While some wanted to see a quick transition in which Shamir would have been ratified as leader without any opponents, Shamir had been unable to persuade Levy to drop out of the race.^[4]

Shamir was largely favored by the party's old guard and cabinet ministers, but Levy did have a large base of support among the rank-and-file membership of the party.^[4]

Election procedure

The election was a secret ballot vote of Herut's 900 member Central Committee.^[5]^[4] The vote took place in Tel Aviv's Ohel Shem theater.^[5]

Result

1983 Herut leadership election^[3]
Candidate	Votes	%
Yitzhak Shamir	436	59.08
David Levy	302	40.92
Total votes	738	100

Subsequent negotiations to have Shamir lead the Likud coalition

The day after the Herut leadership elections, rapid negotiations were led with the leaders of the other member party's of the Likud coalition (which Likud was the principle party of), and these leaders announced that they agreed to have Shamir lead the coalition.^[5]

References

^ "Shamir wins his party's nomination to succeed Begin". Newspapers.com. Philadelphia Inquirer. 2 September 1983. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ Hart, William (29 August 1983). "Jewish leaders cite many factors leading to Begin's resignation". Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b Kenig, Ofer (2009). "Democratizing Party Leadership Selection in Israel: A Balance Sheet". Israel Studies Forum. 24 (1): 62–81. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Top Israeli leaders vie for position". Newspapers.com. News and Observer. New York Times News Service. 1 September 1983. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Riley, Susan (12 September 1983). "Shamir takes the helm". Maclean's.

[1] "Shamir wins his party's nomination to succeed Begin". Newspapers.com. Philadelphia Inquirer. 2 September 1983. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

[2] Hart, William (29 August 1983). "Jewish leaders cite many factors leading to Begin's resignation". Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

[Kenig-3] Kenig, Ofer (2009). "Democratizing Party Leadership Selection in Israel: A Balance Sheet". Israel Studies Forum. 24 (1): 62–81. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

[vie-4] "Top Israeli leaders vie for position". Newspapers.com. News and Observer. New York Times News Service. 1 September 1983. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

[Maclean's-5] Riley, Susan (12 September 1983). "Shamir takes the helm". Maclean's.

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