US President Barack Obama (L) presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this June 13, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

He was born as Szymon Perski in 1923 in a Polish town now known as Vishnyeva in Belarus. In 1934, he and his family immigrated to Israel, than known as Palestine.

His nearly 70-year political career covered almost every role in the political arena, including president, two terms of prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister, finance minister, chairman of the Labor party, and leader of the opposition in the parliament.

Peres, who established Israel's nuclear program, also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his part in forging the peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier.

Chairman of the Labor party, Issac Herzog, said in a statement that Peres was "one of Israel's greatest leaders ... He was a mentor, a friend and a great leader who will be remembered forever in the history of Israel."