Jerusalem ( CNN ) -- Doctors have stabilized former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 's heart and blood pressure , but he still remains in critical condition , a hospital official said Sunday . The 85-year old is still suffering from multiple organ failure , said Zeev Rotstein , director of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer . Sharon is known as a highly decorated -- if controversial -- Israeli military figure who became prime minister in 2001 . But Sharon has been in a coma since 2006 , when he suffered a major stroke that led doctors to put him under anesthesia and on a respirator . His term as prime minister came to an end . News broke on Wednesday that his health had worsened . Rising through military ranks . Born in 1928 in Kfar Malal -- a community that would later become part of Israel -- Sharon graduated from high school in 1945 and began working with the Haganah , a militant group advocating for Israel 's independence . He began his rise through the Israeli military ranks in 1953 . Sharon helped establish an elite commando unit and was eventually promoted to be an army major general . He held this rank during 1967 's Six-Day War , which ended with Israel controversially expanding its territory . Sharon went on to play major roles in subsequent Israeli military conflicts as well , including as head of the Army 's Armored Reserve Division during the 1973 Yom Kippur War . He then began segueing into government , including stints as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 's military adviser , agriculture minister and defense minister from 1981 to 1983 . Invasion of Lebanon . Sharon also orchestrated Israel 's invasion of Lebanon , an effort aimed at Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) fighters that also left hundreds of Lebanese civilians dead . His actions led many in the Arab world to call him the `` Butcher of Beirut . '' An official Israeli inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the September 1982 killings of as many as 2,000 Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps outside of Beirut , Lebanon . The report -- which led to Sharon 's prompt resignation -- determined the then-defense minister did nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps , despite fears they might seek to avenge the killing of their leader the previous day . Sharon did not stay out of the spotlight for long . His adviser Ranaan Gissin said Sharon `` he felt betrayed by his government . '' Sharon also sued Time for a magazine article implying that he had foreknowledge and a greater role in this massacre , with a jury later finding the U.S.-based publisher guilty of defamation but not of malice . Becoming prime minister . Sharon went on to hold a several other Cabinet posts from 1984 to 2001 , when he won a special election to become prime minister . By then , as head of the Likud party , Sharon was considered a hawk . And early on , he took the offensive by sending tanks and troops into Palestinian territory and ordering the assassination of militant leaders . But Sharon also took steps toward peace , such as agreeing with the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat on a timeline to halt Israeli-Palestinian violence and resume peace talks . But that effort undermined by Sharon 's own party , which backed a resolution to never allow the creation of a Palestinian state . Sharon later participated in talks with regional and world powers to discuss a `` road map '' for Middle East peace . Immediately after he fell ill in early 2006 , his power was transferred to Vice Premier Ehud Olmert . Surgeons removed 20 inches of his intestine the following month and , that April , Israel 's Cabinet formally ended his run as prime minister after declaring him permanently incapacitated . The former prime minister 's health has fluctuated during the time he has been in the coma . In January 2013 , doctors said testing on Sharon indicated some brain activity when he was shown photos of his home and heard his son 's voice . Sharon brain results not proof he 'll wake up .
Doctors have stabilized heart and blood pressure but Sharon remains in critical condition . The former Israeli prime minister is still suffering from organ failure . Sharon has been in a coma since 2006 . News broke Wednesday that Sharon 's health had worsened .