Born Ariel Scheinermann in Kfar Malal, while Palestine was still a British Colony, at age 14 he joined a Hebrew paramilitary organization, becoming an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces after independence in 1948. Sharon had a distinguished military career, rising to the rank of general. He was wounded on several occasions and was decorated for bravery. He commanded troops during the 1956 Suez Canal invasion, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Sharon helped form the nationalist Likud Party in 1973 and was elected to the Knesset, but resigned from parliament a year later over differences with the Likud leadership. Prior to the 1977 elections, Sharon established a new political party, Shlomtzion. The party won only two seats in the Knesset, and Sharon merged Shlomtzion with Likud. He was appointed minister of agriculture and oversaw an expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 1981, he became minister of defense. The former general directed Israeli strategy during the 1982 Lebanon War. He successfully prosecuted the war, but was removed from office in 1983 following revelations that Israeli forces had supported Lebanese Maronite militia fighters during the massacre of Palestinian refugees at Sabra. Sharon continued to serve in successive governments, however, as minister of trade and industry and later minister of construction, foreign minister, and again defense minister. In 1999, Sharon became leader of the Likud Party and emphasized a hard-line approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. His visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was cited by Palestinians as the cause of the Second, or al-Aqsa, Intifada.

Sharon was elected prime minister in 2001. His stance on Palestinian issues was criticized by officials in the administration of William J. Clinton, and his election caused an end to the Taba Summit. In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States later that year, Sharon urged the administration of George W. Bush to increase pressure on the Palestinian National Authority to do more to end terrorism. He also endeavored to convince the United States to help to suppress pro-Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. In response, Washington adopted more stringent prohibitions on terrorism financing as part of the broader war on terror. Meanwhile, with American and European support, Sharon initiated a policy of unilateral withdrawal from some of the occupied territories, including Gaza. The prime minister even forcibly removed 8,500 Jewish settlers from 21 areas in Gaza. The last Israeli soldiers left Gaza on 11 September 2005. The decision to withdraw led to a leadership challenge within Likud, and on 21 November 2005, Sharon resigned as chief of the party to form a new political grouping, Kadima ("Forward"). Many moderate Likud members joined the new party.

On 18 December 2005, Sharon was hospitalized following a stroke. Then on 4 January 2006, Sharon suffered a massive stroke that left him on life support. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert became acting prime minister and then succeeded Sharon following elections in March 2006 in which Kadima won the largest number of seats in the Knesset and formed a coalition government.

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