Ariel Sharon (Hebrew: àّéàى ùّهï‎, also known by his diminutive Arik, àاّé÷) (born Ariel Scheinermann (àّéàى ùééًّîï) on 26 February 1928) is a former Israeli Prime Minister and military leader. Sharon served as Prime Minister from March 2001 until April 2006, though he was unable to carry out his duties after suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006, when he fell into a coma and entered a persistent vegetative state.

During his lengthy career, Sharon was a controversial figure among many factions, both inside and outside Israel. Some of his critics have sought to prosecute him as a war criminal for alleged crimes related to the Qibya Massacre in 1953 and the Sabra and Shatila massacre during the 1982 Lebanon War. The Israeli government established the Kahan Commission to investigate, and it subsequently found Israel indirectly responsible for the event. Sharon was found to bear some responsibility[1] for the entry of the Lebanese Falangist militias into the Palestinian camp. Sharon resigned from the Defence Ministry, but remained in the cabinet as minister without portfolio.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Sharon`s policies caused a rift within the Likud Party, and he ultimately left Likud to form a new party called Kadima. He became the first Prime Minister of Israel who did not belong to either Labor or Likud (the two parties that have traditionally dominated Israeli politics). The new party created by Sharon, with Ehud Olmert having stepped in as its leader, after Sharon fell ill in the midst of election season, won the most Knesset seats in the 2006 elections, and is now the senior coalition partner in the Israeli government.

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