Ariel Sharon (interim) Ariel Sharon The September 1999 Likud leadership election was held on 2 September 1999[1] to elect the leader of the Likud party.

Ariel Sharon was elected to permanently replace former leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sharon had been serving as interim leader since Netanyahu resigned following the party's defeat in the 1999 Israeli general election.

[2] The leadership election was open to the party's general membership, which, at the time, numbered at 143,871.

[2] Due to his advanced age, some saw Sharon as a likely transitional leader, likely to serve only for a short time before stepping aside.