--- description: Golda Meir is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Golda Meir: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0c29f1b80c11c74/698a0af1929fad683dbf5c49/social-1956_Golda-Meir.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1956: Golda Meir Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT  Burt Glinn—Magnum Photos by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT Israel had had only one foreign minister by the time Golda Meir was named to the post in 1956, but there was a logic to making hers the public face of what at the time was an eight-year-old state for a 2,000-year-old nation. Born in Kyiv and raised in Milwaukee, Golda Meir embraced the Zionist dream of a Jewish homeland, and proved effective at promoting it. After she raised $50 million for Israel’s war of independence, founding Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion wrote that Meir was the “Jewish woman who got the money which made the state possible.” Her legacy also included a dismissive approach to a Palestinian national identity and the trauma of the Yom Kippur War. But in a newly minted society where female military service was the norm, Meir’s 1969 election to prime minister made her [not only the first woman to lead Israel](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/10/archives/golda-meir-18981978.html "undefined"), but also a role model in another liberation movement, farther west. _–Karl Vick_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793561/golda-meir-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793561/golda-meir-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1956: Golda Meir","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:36:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:54.583Z","description":"Golda Meir is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793561/golda-meir-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0c29f1b80c11c74/698a0af1929fad683dbf5c49/social-1956_Golda-Meir.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0c29f1b80c11c74/698a0af1929fad683dbf5c49/social-1956_Golda-Meir.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1956_Golda-Meir","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793561/golda-meir-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1956: Golda Meir"}}]}] ```