Sharansky, a physicist and writer, was a Soviet refusenik imprisoned in a Siberian labor camp from 1977 to 1986. Upon his release, he joined his wife, Avital, in Israel. He became an activist for immigrant rights and served in the Knesset from 1996 to 2003 and in 2006. He held several Cabinet posts, including deputy prime minister and interior minister. He chaired the Jewish Agency for Israel from 2009 to 2018.
Photo: Mark Neyman, Israeli Government Press Office