Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year reign ended Sunday, June 13, after Naftali Bennett scraped together a coalition of parties from across the political spectrum to win a vote of confidence.
Bennett’s victory in ousting the country’s longest-serving leader came with a razor-thin margin of one vote, 60 to 59.
The new Bennett-led coalition government includes three parties that are headed by politicians who used to be Netanyahu allies, including the new prime minister.
As part of the coalition agreement, Bennett, who heads the right wing Yamina, will hold the office of premier for the first two years of the term, and then Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, will become prime minister.
However, the 71-year-old Netanyahu said he has no intention of exiting the political stage.
“If it is destined for us to be in the opposition, we will do it with our backs straight until we topple this dangerous government and return to lead the country,” he told the Knesset on Sunday.
Netanyahu had been prime minister since 2009, but this was his second time leading Israel’s government. In 1996, he became Israel’s youngest-ever prime minister and served until 1999.
Here is a timeline of the rise and fall of Benjamin Netanyahu.