Moshe Katsav, the right-wing MP elected Monday to be Israel's eighth president in a shock victory over front-runner Shimon Peres, started out his life in Israel in a tent camp for new immigrants.
After 23 years rising through the political ranks but failing several times to achieve leadership of the right-wing Likud bloc, the little-known Katsav will be sworn into the largely ceremonial role of head of state on Tuesday, promising to be the "president of all Israelis."
The Iranian-born Katsav, who presents himself as a practicing Jew who respects tradition, and who speaks excellent English, is said by colleagues to be an unassuming personality with integrity and dignity.
"I intend to contribute to the reduction of tensions within our society and I will be the representative of all classes," he said, admitting he himself was surprised by his win.
Katsav will be the first right-winger to hold the post of president, which has been the domain of left-wingers since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
"I call on Arabs of Israel, the religious and the secular, Sephardic and Ashkenazi, to see me as their representative, their president."
One of eight children, Katsav arrived in the Jewish state during its period of formation three years after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when makeshift Jewish communities were sprouting up.
Katsav, 55, lived in the modest Kiryat Malachi camp for new arrivals south of Tel Aviv, which was swelling with Jews from around the world and would develop into a fully-fledged town.
In 1969, Kiryat Malachi residents elected Katsav, a 24-year-old student, to be their mayor, Israel's youngest.
He made his foray into parliament, the Knesset, in 1977 and quickly entrenched himself in Israel's hawkish Likud party.
Katsav studied economics and history at Hebrew University and rose through Likud ranks, eventually holding ministerial posts in two governments, fighting for social causes such as child adoption.
Throughout his quiet campaign to be Israel's number one citizen, Katsav has cultivated an image of "the guy next door," downplaying his chances of beating Peres.
"It's not easy to compete with someone like Shimon Peres," Katsav said in a recent interview with the Jerusalem Post newspaper, which went on to describe him as "remarkably normal."
But few thought Katsav, little-known on the international stage, could vanquish Perez, a former prime minister, a polished Nobel Peace Prize laureate and architect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Although Katsav opposed the Oslo accords signed with the Palestinians in 1993, he later became one of the first right-wing figures to rally to the deal.
But that has not stopped him systematically opposing Israel's territorial concessions at the heart of the peace process.
Katsav has held ministerial posts on several occasions, notably in transport and tourism, serving in two right-wing governments.
He rose through the Likud ranks to the post of deputy prime minister, although he was never handed a key portfolio.
In fact, he had failed several times to install himself at the head of Likud.
Katsav is married with five children and lives in Kiryat Malachi - OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
