Amir Peretz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Israeli Labour Party, having left those positions in June of 2007.

Peretz is the former chairman of the Histadrut trade union federation and defeated Shimon Peres in the primary elections for the Labour leadership in November 9, 2005. He led the Labour Party to a second place showing in the 2006 Israeli elections. He was sworn in as Defense Minister along with the rest of the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on May 4, 2006.