Golda Meir was Israel's fourth Prime Minister and the first woman to lead a Middle Eastern nation—the 'Iron Lady' before Thatcher. Born in Kiev, raised in Milwaukee, Meir emigrated to Palestine in 1921, rising through the Labor Zionist movement to become one of Israel's founding generation.
Meir served as Labor Minister, Foreign Minister, and then Prime Minister (1969-1974). Her tenure was defined by the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched surprise attacks that nearly overwhelmed Israeli forces. Though Israel ultimately prevailed, the intelligence failure and early losses devastated Meir, who resigned in 1974.
Meir embodied Labor Zionism—socialist economics, collective settlement, and uncompromising security. She denied Palestinian national identity ('There was no such thing as Palestinians') and expanded settlements after 1967. Her grandmotherly image belied iron resolve. Meir's legacy includes both Israel's survival through existential threats and the intransigence that made peace harder to achieve.