Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (born October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel) is a long-serving Israeli politician and diplomat who is the current Prime Minister of Israel, having served multiple terms—from 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021, and since November 2022—making him the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history. He is the leader of the right-wing Likud party, which he has led since 2005. The son of revisionist Zionist historian Benzion Netanyahu, he is of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage and is fluent in Hebrew and English. Before entering politics in the 1980s, he served in the elite IDF Sayeret Matkal special forces unit, attaining the rank of captain during the Yom Kippur War. His brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed leading the 1976 Entebbe raid. Netanyahu earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (1975) and a Master of Science in Management (1976) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), also attended Harvard University, and worked in consulting, including at the Heli Trading Company, a Milchan-owned front company for LAKAM that received smuggled krytrons during the krytron smuggling operation.

Netanyahu has been a central figure in Israeli and Middle East politics since the 1990s. His career includes serving as Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1984–1988), deputy foreign minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2002–2003, 2013–2015, 2019–2021), and Finance Minister (2003–2005). He is associated with the 1996 "A Clean Break" strategy paper and is known for his hawkish, hardline stances on national security, intelligence operations, and opposition to Palestinian statehood. His leadership has involved navigating coalitions with far-right parties, supporting settlement expansion, and maintaining the Temple Mount status quo. As Prime Minister, he oversees national security, military operations, and foreign policy, notably championing the Abraham Accords and the U.S.-Israel alliance. During his first term, he lobbied extensively for the release of Jonathan Pollard and granted him Israeli citizenship.

Netanyahu maintains extensive international connections, particularly within the United States, where he has cultivated relationships with the Republican Party, evangelical supporters, and lobbying groups like AIPAC. He has been married to Sara Netanyahu since 1991, and they have two children, Yair and Avner; he also has a daughter, Noa, from his first marriage to Miriam Weizmann. He was also previously married to Fleur Cates.

His tenure has been marked by significant controversy, including the 2014 Gaza War, domestic protests against proposed judicial reforms, and international criticism regarding post-2023 military operations in Gaza. Since 2019, he has faced ongoing corruption trials involving allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which he denies as politically motivated.