Golda Meir

Who is Golda Meir?

Born Golda Mabovitch in Kyiv in the Russian Empire, she spent her childhood in Milwaukee, in the United States, before emigrating to Mandatory Palestine in 1921. A committed labor Zionist, she was one of the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948 and went on to serve as Minister of Labor and then Foreign Minister. In 1969 she became Israel's fourth Prime Minister, the first woman to hold the office and among the first female heads of government anywhere in the world. Her tenure was dominated by the 1973 Yom Kippur War, after which mounting public criticism led to her resignation in 1974. Blunt, tenacious, and widely known as the 'Iron Lady' of Israeli politics, she remains one of the most recognized figures in the nation's history.

Sources: Golda Meir, 'My Life' (autobiography, 1975) · Francine Klagsbrun, 'Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel' (2017)