Ehud Olmert (Hebrew: אהוד אולמרט 
(audio) (help·info), IPA: [ɛˈhud ˈolmeʁt], born 30 September 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel and the former leader of Kadima. Olmert began exercising the powers of the office as Acting Prime Minister [1] on 4 January 2006, after Ariel Sharon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke, during election season, while Sharon was still legally in office. Kadima won the March 2006 elections, enabling Olmert to continue as Acting Prime Minister. On 14 April 2006, days after the election, the length of Sharon's legal incapacitation reached 100 days, allowing Olmert to legally become Interim Prime Minister in office, just days before Olmert formed his own new Government, in the aftermath of the elections, on 4 May 2006, the 31st government, to become Israel's official Prime Minister.[2]
On 30 July 2008, Olmert announced that he would not participate in his party's September 2008 leadership elections and would resign from his position as Prime Minister immediately thereafter[3] (due to public suspicion that he was involved in allegedly corrupt activities). Four days after Tzipi Livni won the ballot, Olmert formally resigned from office in a letter submitted to President Shimon Peres, who asked Livni to form a new government.[4] As Livni failed to form a new government, general elections will be held on February 10, 2009 and Olmert will remain an Interim prime minister until after the elections,[5] as required by the law to remain in office, after resignation, until a new Prime Minister is sworn in.[1]
On 26 November 2008, the Attorney General of Israel, Meni Mazuz, had informed Olmert that he decided to file an indictment against him in what became to be known as "Rishontours" affair, pending a hearing at the attorney general.[6] However, legally, he is presumed innocent until the trial's final verdict is in, and thus may continue to perform his duties as Prime Minister until a new Prime Minister is sworn in.[1]
Tzipora Malka "Tzipi" Livni (Hebrew: ציפורה מלכה "ציפי" לבני, born 5 July 1958 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is Foreign Affairs Minister and the designated Acting Prime Minister of Israel.[1][2]
On 17 September 2008, Livni was elected leader of the Kadima party, giving her the opportunity to seek to form a government that would gain support from a majority of the Knesset.[3][4] After failing to reach agreement with various parties, Livni called for a new election, which has been scheduled for February 2009. In the interim, resigned Prime Minister and former Kadima head Ehud Olmert continues to lead a caretaker government.
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