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On July 19th 2019, Netanyahu’s total days in office as Israel’s prime minister equals Ben-Gurion’s. On July 20th he will hold the title of the Israeli prime minister with the longest term in office.

Flash 90 | GPO

On July 20th 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu will break the record in total days in office among all of Israeli prime ministers, outstripping David Ben-Gurion who served for 4,875 days (about 13 1/2 years). The figure below shows the days in office of Israel’s 11 prime ministers. As one can see, the terms of five prime ministers were not consecutive. Ben-Gurion was prime minister from the establishment of the state (May 1948) until early 1954, and again, from November 1955 to June 1963. Netanyahu’s first term in office lasted three years (1996-1999), and he returned to office 10 years later, in March 2009.

Days in office in office of Israel’s 11 prime ministers

(As of July 20th)

Netanyahu’s long stint in office is striking in a comparative perspective as well. He is currently the third most “veteran” leader among the OECD nations. Only Turkish President Erdoğan and German Chancellor Merkel have been in office longer than Netanyahu. If we compare his term in office, with that of all leaders of established democracies since the end of WW2 (See table below), Netanyahu ranks 16th.

  Leader Country Periods in office Length in office (in days, as of July 20th 2019)
1 Tage Erlander Sweden 1946-1969 8,404
2 Pierre Werner Luxembourg 1959-1974, 1979-1984 7,415
3 Jean-Claude Juncker Luxembourg 1995-2013 6,893
4 Einar Henry Gerhardsen Norway 1945-1951, 1955-1965 6,226
5 Jawaharlal Nehru India 1947-1964 6,130
6 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan* Turkey 2003- 5,972
7 Robert Menzies Australia 1949-1966 5,878
8 Helmut Kohl Germany 1982-1998 5,870
9 Indira Gandhi India 1966-1977, 1980-1984 5,829
10 Pierre Trudeau Canada 1968-1979, 1980-1984 5,642
11 Konrad Adenauer Germany 1949-1963 5,143
12 François Mitterrand** France 1981-1995 5,109
13 Angela Merkel Germany 2005- 4,988
14 Felipe Gonzalez Spain 1982-1996 4,903
15 David Oddsson Iceland 1991-2004 4,887
16 Benjamin Netanyahu Israel 1996-1999, 2009- 4,876
17 David Ben-Gurion Israel 1948-1954, 1955-1963 4,875
18 Bruno Kreisky Austria 1970-1983 4,781
19 Viktor Orban Hungary 1998-2002, 2010- 4,760
20 Wilfried Martens Belgium 1979-1981, 1981-1992 4,467
21 Jacques Chirac** France 1995-2007 4,382
22 Ruud Lubbers Netherlands 1982-1994 4,309
23 John Howard Australia 1996-2007 4,284
24 Margaret Thatcher UK 1979-1990 4,226
25 Keith Holyoake New Zealand 1957, 1960-1972 4,157

* Until 2014 as Prime Minister; since 2014 as president.
** Mitterand and Chirac’s terms in office were constitutionally limited.