GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY

Government of National Unity: translation

Acoalition government of theIsrael Labor PartyandLikudformed following the 1984Knesset election, which lasted until the 1988Knessetelection. Under the terms of the national unity agreement, Labor'sShimon Peresserved as prime minister from 1984 to 1986, while Likud'sYitzhak Shamirserved as foreign minister and deputy prime minister; the two rotated positions halfway through the government's tenure in 1986. The Government of National Unity took important steps toward alleviating inflation and withdrew most of theIsrael Defense ForcesfromLebanon. A variant of the Government of National Unity was formed following the 1988 election, but it lasted only until the spring of 1990.Ariel Sharonformed a Likud-Labor unity government in 2002 that lasted only until 2003.SeeROTATION; WALL-TO-WALL COALITION.