Ariel Sharon, former Israeli Prime Minister, through the years

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had been in a coma since a debilitating stroke eight years ago, has died, according to his son. He was 85. The hard-charging Sharon was one of Israel’s most iconic figures. Take a look back through his history.

Israeli Major General in the Reserves Ariel Sharon smiled near the Suez Canal, then occupied by Israel, in this Oct. 31, 1973 photo.

As Israeli Major General in the reserves, Sharon (right), his head bandaged after an injury, stood with Moshe Dayan on the western side of the Suez Canal in this October 1973 photo.

Sharon is pictured as a member of the Israeli parliament on Dec. 1, 1974.

From left: Major General Sharon with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Major General Adam Yekutiel in the Sinai Peninsula on Feb. 19, 1976.

Sharon sat with his wife Lily and his sons, Gilad (second from left) and Omri (fourth from left) during an event to launch his new political party, Shlomzion, in the West Bank in this picture taken in 1977.

Israel’s Defense Minister Sharon inspected an honor guard during a visit to the central command military base on Oct. 30, 1981.

Sharon laughed with his wife, Lily, at his side during an aerial display at an Israeli Air Force Base on July 15, 1982.

Outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Sharon (right) stood at attention in front of an honour guard during a farewell ceremony on his behalf in Tel Aviv on Oct. 2, 1983.

As Israel’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Sharon sat in a session of Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem on May 6, 1985.

Former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci (center) with Sharon (left) and newly elected President George W. Bush during a Governors’ Mission to Israel in Nov. 1998.

Sharon (right) escorted then-Texas Governor George Bush (left) and Governor Mike Leavitt of Utah on a tour over Israel and the West Bank territories on Dec. 1, 1998.

Sharon greeted US President Bill Clinton during a reception at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Dec. 12, 1998.

Sharon visited his wife’s grave at his Shikmim Farm in the northern Negev desert on Feb. 7, 2001.

Sharon prayed the day after his election victory at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, on Feb. 7, 2001, in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell shook hands with Sharon on May 11, 2003, at the start of their meeting at Sharon’s official residence in Jerusalem.

From left: then-Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, President George W. Bush, Sharon, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the end of The Red Sea summit in Aqaba June 4, 2003.

From left: Sharon and President George W. Bush walked together at the end of a joint press conference at the White House in Washington D.C. on Jan. 11, 2004.

Sharon visited the southern Israeli Bedouin town of Rahat on Aug. 10, 2004.

Sharon attended the opening ceremony of the new terminal three at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Oct. 28, 2004 in Israel.

From left: Sharon and his son, Omri, attended a session of parliament in Jerusalem in this Nov. 10, 2004 photo.

Sharon prepared to light Hanukkah candles with Jewish rabbis at his office in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 14, 2004.

From left: Sharon and British Prime Minister Tony Blair exchanged words during a joint press conference at Sharon’s Jerusalem office in this Dec. 22, 2004 photo.

From left: Sharon shook hands with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak prior to their meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh, in this Feb. 8, 2005 photo.

Former US Senator Hillary Clinton shared a laugh with Sharon during their meeting at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, D.C. on May 24, 2005.

Sharon posed for photos with new immigrants from North America to Israel at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 13, 2005.

Sharon was briefed on the state of construction of the “separation fence,’’ or wall, being built around Jerusalem, Israel in this Nov. 8, 2005 photo.

Sharon smiled during a question and answer session with Israeli news editors at the Journalist’s Association in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 1, 2005. This photo was taken just a few weeks before the former Israeli Prime Minister was hospitalized after suffering a minor ischemic stroke on Dec. 18, 2005. Sharon was hospitalized again on Jan. 4, 2006, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke which left him in a coma until his death on Jan. 11, 2014.