She is one of eight children born to Moshe and Blume Mabovitch (or Mabowitz), five of whom (four boys and a girl) died in infancy. Meir is born Goldie Mabovitch on in Kiev, Ukraine (then part of Russia). The following represents a comprehensive outline of that life, arranged in chronological fashion. Her extraordinary life was not without pain or controversy. A fact that continually reminds us that leadership often emerges from the most unlikely places.

Beyond that, Meir was also twice an immigrant to new lands.

And, unlike the women who proceeded her, the Russian-born/American-bred Meir gained her position as Israel’s Prime Minister without the benefit of family ties to a famous father or an assassinated husband.

Center for Equity and Student Achievementħ0-year-old Golda Meir became the third woman in the 20th Century to emerge as a leader of a nation.

She became a teacher, and after her marriage emigrated again to Palestine, settling on a kibbutz.Īlways politically active, she became Israel's first envoy to Moscow was promoted to Foreign Minister and ultimately elected as Prime Minister, leader of Israel. The family emigrated to the US and for a while Meir lived with her sister, where she was exposed to debates on Zionism, women's suffrage, literature and socialism. Meir's earliest memory is of her father boarding up the front door in response to rumours of an imminent pogrom. Born in 1898 in Kyiv, she was the daughter of an impoverished carpenter - and became the first (and only) female Prime Minister of Israel. Golda Meir was without doubt one of the most incredible women of her - and any - time.

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY JULIA NEUBERGER ' A rare and wholly unforgettable work' SATURDAY REVIEW 'A remarkable, almost incredible personal history. A classic of 20th century history ' Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY A compelling political story of courage and struggle, power and leadership, war and crisis - and the making of Israel. 'The gripping memoir of a remarkable woman who rose to the top in a man's world.

My Life by Golda Meir