( Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) congratulated Mr Rivlin on his election on Tuesday!! )

The Israeli parliament has elected veteran Likud lawmaker Reuven Rivlin as the country’s next president.

Mr Rivlin, a former parliamentary speaker and Cabinet minister, defeated long-time MP Meir Sheetrit, by 63 to 53 in a secret run-off ballot.

He will succeed Shimon Peres, 90, who ends his seven-year term in July.

The Israeli president occupies a largely ceremonial position and has no formal role in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Mr Rivlin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, will become Israel’s 10th president.

‘Man of the nation’

He won when voting on Tuesday went to a second round.

“From this moment, I do not belong to any party; rather, I belong to everyone, a man of the nation,” he told Knesset members after the poll.

“I stand here before you with a great mission. Long live the Israeli democracy! Long live Israel!”

The 74-year-old opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, putting him at odds with the platform adopted by Mr Netanyahu.

He is also a supporter of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, another central issue in the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.

Reuven Rivlin

• Born in 1939 in Jerusalem

• Trained as a lawyer

• First elected to the Knesset (parliament) in 1988

• Former chairman of Betar Jerusalem sports association and loyal supporter of their football team

• Served as minister of communications under then PM Ariel Sharon between 2001 and 2003

• Elected Knesset Speaker in 2003 in an uncontested victory

Congratulating Mr Rivlin at a ceremony on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu cited their common political history.

“I know you will do your utmost as president to meet the two-fold mission of unifying the nation and showing unity in the face of external challenges,” the PM is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

“I promise, as a prime minister from a similar background, to work with you.”

Read More at: BBC News Website!!

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