JERUSALEM, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a "significant stroke" with "massive bleeding" in his brain late Wednesday night. He is still undergoing surgery at present. The following is the profile of the hawkish Israeli leader:

    Sharon was born on Feb. 27, 1928 in Kfar Malal, the first Zionist agrarian community established in the then mandated Palestine.

    In 1942, he enlisted in the Haganah, the pre-state Jewish armed force, debuting his military career.

    In 1949, Sharon participated in the War of Independence as a soldier. He acted as army commander of different ranks in the 1956 Suez Canal War, the 1967 Six-day War, and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He also served as defense minister during the controversial Lebanese War in 1982.

    After retiring from the army, Sharon helped Menahem Begin establish the Likud party in 1973, which grouped various right-wing parties.

    In the same year, Sharon was elected for the first time into the Knesset (parliament), beginning his long-term political career.

    He was later elected as a member of the eighth to the 15th Knesset and took ministerial posts from the 18th to 24th Israeli cabinets. He was defense minister from August 1981 to February 1983, and foreign minister from October 1998 to July 1999.

    In September 1999, Sharon was elected to lead the Likud party.

    As the chairman of the opposition party, Sharon visited the Temple Mount, the third holiest site in Islam, to show Israel's control over the area. The act immediately sparked bloody clashes between Israel and the Palestinians.

    In March 2001, Sharon defeated then Prime Minister and Labor party's Chairman Ehud Barak in a snap election. During his tenure, Sharon established a coalition government with the left-wing Laborto carry out his own political blueprint.

    In September 2005, Israel completed withdrawal of troops and settlers from Gaza to fulfill Sharon's disengagement plan.

    On Nov. 21, Sharon quit the center-right Likud he co-founded over 30 years ago and formed his own Kadima. He said he had been fed up with confrontation with Likud hardliners who were still bitter about the disengagement plan.

    On Dec. 18, 78-year-old Sharon was taken to Hadassah Hospital after suffering a mild stroke. Enditem