Netanyahu racks up the days as PM

As of Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is second only to Israel’s legendary premier David Ben-Gurion in terms of overall time spent in office, with 2,433 days.

Netanyahu thus surpasses Yitzhak Shamir, who was prime minister for 2,432 days — in 1983-84 and 1986-1992.

Netanyahu’s first term in office was between 1996 and 1999. He was reelected to the job in 2009, and looks likely to be a shoo-in for for a third term when Israel votes in January 2013.

According to Dr. Ofer Kenig of the Israel Democracy Institute, it would take Netanyahu until mid-2018, essentially a third and fourth term, to overtake Ben-Gurion, who served as prime minister for a total of 4,575 days.