An election for

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

was held in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

on 21 May 1963 following the death of the county's second president,

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( he, יִצְחָק בֶּן־צְבִי‎ ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963) was a historian, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel. Biography Born in Poltava in the Russian Empir ...

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

Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar ( he, זלמן שז"ר; born Shneur Zalman Rubashov; be, Шнэер За́льман Рубашо́ў; russian: Шне́ер За́лмен Рубашо́в; November 24, 1889 – October 5, 1974) was an Israeli politician, author ...

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

Kadish Luz Kadish Luz ( he, קַדִּישׁ לוּז, born Kadish Luzinski; 10 January 1895 – 4 December 1972) was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1955 and 1959 and Speaker of the Knesset from 1959 and 1969.

served as acting president.

Candidates

There were two candidates: *

: A member of the Knesset for

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

, and former Minister of Education and editor of the

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by th ...

newspaper. *

Peretz Bernstein Peretz Bernstein ( he, פרץ ברנשטיין, born Shlomo Fritz Bernstein; 12 June 1890 – 21 March 1971) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. Biography Bern ...

: A member of the Knesset for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, 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.

External links

Presidential elections
Knesset website {{Authority control 1963 elections in Israel

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

May 1963 events in Asia