The burly warhorse turned man of peace

A file picture shows Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with his dog at his Sycamore ranch in southern Israel's Negev desert. Sharon was rushed back to the operation theatre yesterday after doctors detected new bleeding in his brain. PHOTO: AFP

The 77-year-old Sharon underwent seven hours of surgery before doctors were able to halt bleeding in his brain but the prime minister remained in a critical condition.

The powers of the premier, who is seeking re-election at a general election scheduled for March 28 at the head of a new centrist party, has been transferred to Finance Minister Ehud Olmert.

Sharon, who turns 78 in February, has etched an indelible and controversial mark on Israel's military and political landscape over the last half-century.

Despite concerns about his health, particularly his weight, Sharon has maintained the kind of punishing work schedule that would have exhausted a man half his age.

Although the burly premier has cut down on his foreign travels in recent years, he has continued to lead from the front during some of the most far-reaching changes in Israeli history.

In November, the domineering Sharon announced he was leaving the right-wing Likud party that he was instrumental in forming in 1973 and setting up his new party, Kadima.

The decision came as a result of his frustration at having to battle hardliners within Likud who refused to forgive him for pulling settlers and troops out of the Gaza Strip over the summer.

His abandonment of Likud was seen as the ultimate political gamble for the man once reviled for masterminding Israel's disastrous invasion of Lebanon and now lauded for withdrawing troops and settlers from Gaza.

Over the years, the prime minister has shown himself an artful politician, trading in his image of hardline to one of moderate, with US President George W. Bush and even Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak describing him as a man of peace.