Changes

[[Image:Olmert ehud.jpg|right|thumb|Ehud Olmert]]

[[Image:Olmert ehud.jpg|right|thumb|Ehud Olmert]]

'''Ehud Olmert''' was the Prime Minister of [[Israel]]<ref>

'''Ehud Olmert''' is the current, but outgoing, Prime Minister of [[Israel]]<ref>

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7534750.stm (BBC)]</ref>

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7534750.stm (BBC)]</ref>

<ref>[http://reveillez.blogspot.com/2008/08/olmert-resigns-peace-at-hand.html Religious commentary on Olmert's resignation]</ref>

<ref>[http://reveillez.blogspot.com/2008/08/olmert-resigns-peace-at-hand.html Religious commentary on Olmert's resignation]</ref>

and leader of the [[Kadima]] party. He assumed the position after the vacancy left by [[Ariel Sharon]]'s stroke. He has been criticized in the past for taking bribes, supporting organized crime, and is suspected of receeving illegal campaign donations.{{fact}} All allegations have been settled out of court.

and leader of the [[Kadima]] party. He assumed the position after the vacancy left by [[Ariel Sharon]]'s stroke. Olmert's standing plummeted after Israel's botched war in Lebanon in 2006 and the corruption probes launched by Israeli police, largely relating to his political career before he became prime minister.<ref>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/59f7ead4-5e98-11dd-b354-000077b07658.html</ref> He is the subject of at least five investigations, and while none have led to an indictment, the continuous pressure and scrutiny impacted his ability to govern and in July 2008 he announced his resignation.

 

Olmert's resignation came in the form of a statement that he would not be a candidate in the September 2008 Kadima party primaries, and that he would resign as prime minister to make way for the new party chief. If none is selected in September, then he would have to stay on as a the head of a caretaker government until a successor is chosen.<ref>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/59f7ead4-5e98-11dd-b354-000077b07658.html</ref>

==Notes==

==Notes==