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Golda Meir
The third woman prime minister in the world, Golda Meir's tenure is remembered largely for the Yom Kippur War.
Prime Minister of Israel 1969-74
The third woman to be a prime minister of any nation, Golda Meir led Israel from the end of the 1960s to 1974. Born in Kiev in 1898, she lived in Milwaukee, US from 1906. After marriage, she moved to Palestine in 1921, by when she was already a member of a Zionist group. She worked in various capacities in trade unions in the 1930s and 40s, and 1948 she became a member of the Provisional Government. In June 1948, Meir was appointed Israel's Ambassador to USSR. She was elected to the Knesset in 1949, she served as Minister of Labor and National Insurance until 1956.
Meir's most important legacy is as Israel's Foreign Minister, a post she held from June 1956 to January 1966. She was the architect of Israel's attempt to create bridges to the newly independent countries of Africa. She also tried to cement relations with US. Between 1966 And 1968 she became Secretary General of the Labour Party. On Levi Eshkol's death, she became Prime Minister of coalition. Her tenure is remembered most for the 1973 Yom Kippur War. She resigned in 1974 and died four years later.