January 1999 Likud leadership election

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January 1999 Likud leadership election
Likud Logo.svg
←  1993 25 January 1999 1999 (Sep)  →
Turnout31.3%
  Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SPINNING A RATTLE (1).jpg Moshe Arens 1999 (3x4).jpg
Candidate Benjamin Netanyahu Moshe Arens
Percentage81.7%18.3%
Leader before election

Benjamin Netanyahu

Elected Leader

Benjamin Netanyahu

The January 1999 Likud leadership election was held on 25 January 1999 [1] to elect the leader of the Likud party. Incumbent party leader and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu handily defended a challenge by former minister of defense Moshe Arens.

Contents

The election coincided with the primary to select the party's electoral list for the 1999 Israeli general election. [2]

Candidates

Running

Withdrew

Background

The vote took part ahead of the 1999 Israeli general election, held after Netanyahu's governing coalition collapsed. [3] There had been several defections from the party leading up to the leadership race, including Benny Begin and Dan Meridor, who both defected to lead their own parties in the 1999 general election. [2]

Moshe Arens was a veteran of the Likud party that had formerly been a mentor to Netanyahu and had fully supported Netanyahu's candidacy in the 1993 Likud leadership election. However, Arens had broken away from Netanyahu after Netanyahu became prime minister in 1996. Arens, and several other veterans of Likud, began to distrust Netanyahu after he became prime minister, disapproving of many of the choices Netanyahu had made for political appointees. Arens ended six years of political retirement to challenge Netanyahu for the leadership of Likud. He declared that he was the only one that could, "stop the internal hemorrhaging in the Likud." [3] Political analysts saw Arens' chances of unseating Netanyahu as being unlikely. [2]

Electorate

The leadership election was open to the party's general membership, which, at the time, numbered at 168,127. [1]

Result

January 1999 Likud leadership election [1]
CandidateVotes%
Benjamin Netanyahu (incumbent)81.7
Moshe Arens 18.3
Voter turnout31.3%

Aftermath

Shortly after the election, Netanyahu appointed Arens minister of defense. [4] In May, Netanyahu was defeated by Ehud Barak in the general election, and subsequently resigned as party leader. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 3 Sontag, Deborah (12 January 1999). "Netanyahu's Likud Mentor Says He'll Challenge Protege". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Moshe Arens enters contest in Israel against Netanyahu" . The Kansas City Star. The Associated Press. 12 January 1999. Retrieved 5 November 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Arens Rejoins Netanyahu". The Associated Press . New York Times. 27 January 1999. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Trounson, Rebecca (28 May 1999). "Netanyahu Quits Parliament and Political Life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
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