Key dates in Olmert's tenure

Following are key events in the premiership career of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who said on Wednesday he would step down in September after a party leadership vote.

2006

- Jan 4: Ariel Sharon suffers a massive brain haemorrhage and Olmert assumes office as Israel's 12th prime minister.

- Jan 16: Olmert is nominated as the head of Kadima, the centrist party created by Sharon.

- March 28: Olmert leads Kadima to election victory on a platform of dismantling dozens of settlements and withdrawing troops from most of the occupied West Bank.

- May 4: Olmert's coalition government is sworn in.

- June 28: Israel launches a massive offensive in Gaza after a soldier is captured by Palestinian militants.

- July 12: Two Israeli soldiers are captured by Hezbollah fighters, sparking a war which devastates Lebanon before a UN-brokered ceasefire on August 14.

2007

- Jan 16: A criminal inquiry is opened into corruption allegations against Olmert. They include into whether he tried, while acting finance minister, to steer the sale of the nation's second-largest Bank Leumi towards an associate.

- June 15: Hamas seizes control of Gaza after driving out forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose supporters retain power in the West Bank.

- April 30: Olmert refuses to resign despite an Israeli government commission probing the 2006 Lebanon war accusing him of "serious failure."

- Sept 24: Israel's chief prosecutor orders a criminal corruption probe into Olmert over the purchase of a Jerusalem home.

- Nov 27: Israel and the Palestinians agree at a US conference to restart peace talks after a seven-year hiatus.

- Nov 29: Israeli police say there is insufficient evidence to indict Olmert in the Bank Leumi case.

2008

- Jan 17: Israel orders a full-scale lockdown of Gaza, halting all fuel, food, medicine and shipments apart from exceptional humanitarian supplies in retaliation for rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

- Jan 30: Final report into the Lebanon war brands the conflict a "serious missed opportunity" but falls short of calling for Olmert's resignation.

- Feb 27: Israel launches air and ground assaults on Gaza that leave more than 130 Palestinians dead. Five Israelis are also killed.

- May 2: Police quiz Olmert in connection with allegations he received illegal funds from a US businessman while he was mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.

- May 21: Israel and Syria announce they have resumed peace talks through Turkish mediators after an eight-year freeze.

- June 19: An Egypt-mediated truce takes effect in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militants.

- July 16: Hezbollah hands over the bodies of the two soldiers whose capture sparked the Lebanon war in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Kantar jailed for a triple murder.

- July 21: Kadima votes to change its charter to pave the way for a September leadership election

July 30: Olmert announces he will stand down after Kadima elects a new leader

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