Golda Meir

Golda Mabovitch was born in Kiev, Russia, in 1898. The pograom that she and her family suffered through in Russia greatly influenced her life.

Her family moved to Milwaukee in 1906, and Golda became involved in both the Zionist and socialist movements. After marrying Morris Meyerson in 1921, she and her husband moved to Palestine and joined a kibbutz.

Golda's political skills were recognized on the kibbutz. In 1934 she joined the executive committee of the Histadrut, the Jewish Labor Union. In 1946, after the British arrested the leaders of the Yishuv, Golda became the acting head of the Jewish Agency and led discussions to free the Jewish leaders.

In 1947 Golda was selected to the top executive committee of the Jewish Agency responsible for preparing Israel for statehood. At Ben Gurion's urging, Golda changed her last name to Meir.

With war brewing, Gold flew to the United States in January 1948 to raise money for arms. She was tremendously successful; She raised almost $50 million in her whirlwind tour.

After the founding of the State, Golda Meir served as Israel's first ambassador to the Soviet Union. In 1949 she became minister of labor, responsible for huge housing and road-building programs needed for the mass of new refugees. In 1956 she became foreign minister of Israel and eloquently presented Israel's case at the UN after the Sinai Campaign.

In 1967 she succeeded in uniting Mapai with two other political parties to create the Israel Labor Party. Golda became Israel's third prime minister and the world's second woman prime minister on February 26, 1969.

Golda Meir resigned on April 11, 1974, after the Yom Kippur War. She died on December 8, 1978.