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)
