Born in Brest-Litovsk, Belarus (then in the Russian Empire and in Poland between the two World Wars), he had a traditional education and studied law. Joining the Betar movement at age 16 he went on to become its High Commissioner in Poland. In 1939, he escaped from the Nazis to Soviet-occupied Poland and was jailed for a year for his Zionist activities. After his release, he joined the Free Polish Army and managed to reach Palestine in 1942. A year later, he was invited to command the Irgun Zvai Leumi (IZL, also known by its Hebrew acronym as Etzel), which he did until its dissolution in 1948. He directed all the Irgun's anti-British activities, while in hiding with a price on his head. Following the establishment of Israel's independence, Begin founded the Herut party, which he represented in the Knesset from the first elections in 1949 until 1984. In 1967-1970, he was a member of the Government of National Unity but for the rest of the period until 1977 he led the opposition. In 1977, he was elected Prime Minister (the Herut party had by now joined other parties to become the Likud) and in 1977-1979 was responsible for the negotiations with Egypt that led to the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. In 1981, he was reelected prime minister but, following the Lebanon War of 1982, he resigned as prime minister and withdrew from politics (1983). He wrote White Nights about his imprisonment in Russia and The Revolt about the Irgun's activities against the British.

Bibliography:

BEGIN, Menachem. Mori, Ze'ev Z'abotinski [with introductions by Tsevi Horovits, Yitshak Shamir, and Efrayim Even.] Pp. 264. Yerushalayim: Merkaz Moreshet Menahem Begin, 2001

BEGIN, Menachem. ha-Mered. Pp. 513. [Jerusalem, 1950]

BEGIN, Menachem. Ba-mahteret. 4 vols. In 2. 1975

BEGIN, Menachem. Havlagah, teguvah o pitaron. Pp. 20. [n. p.] 1955

BEGIN, Menachem. Be-lelot Levanim. Pp. 247. [Jerusalem, 1953]

BEGIN, Menachem. Be-lelot levanim: sipur ma'asaro va-hakirato shel Menahem Begin: be-tseruf ha-protokolim shel ha-N.K.V.D. she-neh´sefu la-aharonah. Pp. 351. (New Ed.). [Tel Aviv]: Dvir, c1995

AHIMEIR, Yosef. ha-Manhig she-hevi et ha-shalom. Pp. 27. Yerushalayim: Misrad ha-hinukh veha-tarbut, Merkaz ha-hasbarah, Sherut ha-pirsumim, 1992.

HABER, Eitan. Menahem Begin: the legend and the man. (translated by Louis Williams).
Pp. vi, 321. New York: Delacorte Press, c1978

KARNIEL, Mordekhai. Morashato shel Menahem Begin. Pp. 170. Yerushalayim: Pesagot, c1999

Links:

Menachem Begin

Memorial Page - Knesset

Menahem Begin

The Irgun Site