An election to choose the third President of Israel

President of Israel

The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...

was held in the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 on 21 May 1963 following the death of the county's second president, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:...

 on 23 April. Between Ben-Zvi's death and the winner of the election, Zalman Shazar

Zalman Shazar

Zalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:...

, taking office on the day of the vote, Knesset speaker Kadish Luz

Kadish Luz

Kadish Luz was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1955 and 1959 and Speaker of the Knesset from 1959 and 1969.-Biography:...

 served as acting president.

Candidates

There were two candidates:

• Zalman Shazar
  Zalman Shazar
  Zalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:...
  
  : A member of the Knesset for Mapai
  Mapai
  Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
  
  , and former Minister of Education and editor of the Davar
  Davar
  Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
  
   newspaper.
• Peretz Bernstein
  Peretz Bernstein
  Peretz Bernstein was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
  
  : A member of the Knesset for the Liberal Party
  Liberal Party (Israel)
  The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...
  
  , former Minister of Trade and Industry and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.

Results

The election was settled in the first round, with Shazar gaining an outright majority of votes in the 120-seat Knesset.

Candidate	Affiliation	Votes
Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:...	Mapai Mapai Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...	67
Peretz Bernstein Peretz Bernstein Peretz Bernstein was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...	Liberal Party Liberal Party (Israel) The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...	33
Empty ballots		7
Total		107

External links

• Presidential elections Knesset website