Elder statesman Shimon Peress took office as Israel's ninth
president yesterday at the age of 83, pledging to devote the full
seven-year term to realizing his lifelong dream of bringing peace
to the Middle East, despite the limitations of the largely
ceremonial post.
The swearing-in ceremony at Israel's parliament in Jerusalem
capped a momentous six-decade political career that has included
international acclaim and a Nobel peace prize but also a string of
embarrassing electoral defeats at home.
In an interview, Peres said he would not be constrained by his
new job's figurehead status - or his age. "If you are healthy and
clear-minded, what's wrong? I'm not in a hurry to pass away," Peres
said. "The day will come that I shall not forget to pass away. But
until then, I'm not going to waste my life."
Peres inherits an office tarnished by a sex scandal that forced
his predecessor to resign, and his ascension to the presidency has
widely been welcomed by a public fed up with scandal.
During the nearly 30-minute conversation, Peres - praised by his
supporters as a visionary but ridiculed by foes as a hopeless
dreamer - pledged to fight poverty and global warming, and even
expressed hope of making peace with archenemy Iran.
"After such a long career, let me just say something: My
appetite to manage is over. My inclination to dream and to envisage
is greater," he said.
Peres, the last politically active member of Israel's founding
generation, has been a contributor to history throughout Israel's
59-year existence. He was a senior aide to the country's first
prime minister, David Ben Gurion, developed Israel's nuclear
program, built up the military in the 1950s and has held every
senior government post, including three stints as prime
minister.
As foreign minister, he played a key role in the first
Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, earning him the Nobel prize in
1994. He also soothed the nation as caretaker leader following the
1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
(China Daily via agencies July 16, 2007)
