Chaim Herzog who was a native of Ireland served as the sixth President of Israel. His father, who was a fluent speaker of the Irish language was the chief rabbi of Ireland. Chaim Herzog was childhood friend of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the fifth President of Ireland.
Chaim Herzog was born in Belfast on September 17th 1918. A year after he was born his family moved to Dublin. Herzog grew up in Dublin and was educated at Wesley College. In 1935 at the age of 17 he immigrated to Palestine with his family. He studied law at the University of London and served with the British Army during World War II.
After the war Herzog returned to Palestine. He served with the Israeli Defence Forces rising to the rank of major general. From 1975 to 1978 he served as Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. In 1981 he was elected to the Israeli parliament. Two years later Chaim Herzog was elected President of Israel. He served as President for two terms from 1983 to 1993. He died in Tel Aviv, Israel at the age of 78 on April 17th 1997.
Chaim Herzog was elected President of Israel in the year 1983 On This Day.
Chaim Herzog
By Al Gilbert C.M. – Gilbert Studios, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40260512