Yair Lapid, a news anchor who now leads the centrist party Yesh Atid, told the president on Wednesday that he had rallied the votes needed to form a coalition government to oust that of the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After Netanyahu failed to gather a majority in parliament, Lapid was given the chance to form a coalition government in Israel. Thanks to surprise backing from the right-wing nationalist tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, Lapid has been able to form the government.

For the first two years, Bennett, 49, would serve first as prime minister in a rotation deal, before Lapid takes over.

Lapid’s Yesh Atid (There is a Future) came in second behind Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party in elections held in March. Netanyahu was given the first shot by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin at forming a government; Lapid now has 28 days to make an attempt.

Yair Lapid, known for his dashing good looks, was dismissed by many as just another media celebrity trying his hand at politics, when he launched the Yesh Atid in 2012.

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But in the 2013 general election, Lapid’s party surprised by winning 19 of Israel’s 120 parliamentary seats, becoming the second-largest party in the Knesset. The Yesh Atid was established as a credible force just a year after it was launched.

In 2019, the Yesh Atid joined the centrist Blue and White coalition under the leadership of Benny Gantz, a former military chief. Blue and White took on Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud in three elections in less than a year.

Last year, Benny Gantz decided to join a Netanyahu-led coalition, Lapid separated from him, accusing Gantz of breaching a fundamental promise Blue and White had made to its supporters that it would fight to defeat Netanyahu. As the head of Yesh Atid, Lapid became the leader of the opposition in the Knesset.

For the March elections, he positioned himself as the alternative to the 71-year-old Netanyahu. 

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Yair Lapid is the son of another journalist-turned-politician, the fiercely secular former justice minister Yosef “Tommy” Lapid and novelist-playwright-poet Shulamit. 

Lapid was a newspaper columnist before becoming a presenter on Channel 2 TV, a role that brought him stardom. He has written a dozen books, most of which featured on bestseller lists, including his most prominent book, “Memories After My Death”, about his father. 

Yair Lapid is also an amateur boxer and martial artist and once was on lists of Israel’s most desirable men. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.

The Tel Aviv-born Lapid is married to Lihi, a bestselling author and newspaper columnist. Lihi Lapid was a news photographer. They have two sons, Yoav, Lior and Yael.