Mr. Sharansky graduated with a degree in computer science from the prestigious Physical Technical Institute in Moscow. After graduation, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, which he was denied for "security reasons". In 1977, a Soviet newspaper alleged that Mr. Sharansky was collaborating with the CIA. Despite denials from every level of the U.S. Government, including President Carter himself, Mr. Sharansky was found guilty and sentenced to thirteen years of solitary confinement and hard labor. Due to intense international pressure, Mr. Sharansky was released in a prisoner exchange on February 11, 1986, and emigrated to Israel on that day.

Natan Sharansky has long been involved in the struggle for human rights. In 1976, he helped establish the Helsinki Monitoring Group, a human rights movement based in Moscow and headed by the late Andrei Sakharov. Prior to his advent on the Israeli political scene, Mr. Sharansky worked tirelessly in support of the Zionist Forum, an umbrella organization of former Soviet activist groups dedicated to helping new Israelis and educating the public about absorption issues. In early 1994, he co-founded Peace Watch - an independent non-partisan group committed to monitoring the compliance to agreements signed by Israel and the PLO.

Yisrael Baaliya means both "Israel on the Rise" and "Israel for Immigration", an indication of Mr. Sharansky's goals. As party chairman, he seeks to improve Israel by bringing immigration and absorption issues to the forefront of the Israeli political dialogue, believing that improvement of social conditions for all Israelis will create a society attractive to Jews in the countries of the former Soviet Union as well as in the West.

In 1996, ten years after arriving in Israel, Natan Sharansky was elected to the Israeli Parliament. Mr. Sharansky's party, Yisrael Baaliya, won seven seats in its first Knesset elections . As a result of the party's success in the 1999 elections, Natan Sharansky was appointed to the coveted post of Minister of Interior. He resigned from the post in July 2000, in protest over the Israeli Prime Minister's willingness to offer unprecedented concessions in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. As one of the leaders of the Israeli opposition, Mr. Sharansky has waged a tireless battle against the division of Jerusalem, and against Israel's capitulation to Palestinian demands under the threat of violence.

From 1990 to 1996 Mr. Sharansky served as Associate Editor of "The Jerusalem Report".

In 2000, Mr. Sharansky was one of the founders of the organization "One Jerusalem".

His memoirs, Fear No Evil, was published in the United States in 1988 and translated into nine languages.
Mr. Sharansky is married to Avital (Shtieiglitz) Sharansky. They reside in Jerusalem with their two daughters, Rachel and Hanna.