Golda Meir in 1973. File photo by Marion S. Trikosko, edited by Talmoryair, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
1969Society
Golda Meir becomes Israel's first woman prime minister at the age of 71.
On 17 March 1969 she takes office after the sudden death of Levi Eshkol, and becomes the world's third woman prime minister.
The story in numbers.
71
years old when she took office
SourceJewish Virtual Library
3
women prime ministers worldwide, counting her
SourceJewish Virtual Library
5
years as prime minister, until 1974
SourceJewish Virtual Library
Here is how it happened.
1898 to 1921
A girl born in Kyiv grows up in Milwaukee and becomes a teacher.
Her family leaves for the United States when she is a child, and in high school she joins a Zionist group. She earns a teaching certificate and marries Morris Meyerson.
SourceBiography.com
1921
She and her husband join Kibbutz Merhavia.
They move to Jerusalem in 1924, and she goes on to represent the Histadrut trade union federation.
SourceBiography.com
Golda Meir as Foreign Minister, 1964. File photo by Willem van de Poll, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1948 to 1966
She signs the Declaration of Independence and serves in the Knesset and the cabinet.
She joins the Knesset in 1949 and is Minister of Labor and National Insurance until 1956. From June 1956 until January 1966 she is Foreign Minister.
SourceBiography.com
Prime Minister Golda Meir addressing the Knesset. File photo by IPPA photographer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
17 March 1969
Levi Eshkol dies suddenly, and Meir takes over as prime minister.
She had wanted to retire, but takes the post and leads the government until she resigns in 1974.
SourceJewish Virtual Library
1 of 4
Here is why it matters.
Her path ran from a Kyiv childhood and a Milwaukee classroom to a kibbutz, the Knesset and the prime minister's office. She was also one of the signers of Israel's Declaration of Independence.
Three more milestones to read next.
David Ben-Gurion reading the Declaration of Independence, 14 May 1948. File photo by Rudi Weissenstein, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
1948
The Declaration of Independence promises equal rights to all.
Read the story
Salim Joubran. File photo by רדיומן, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
2004
Salim Joubran becomes Israel's first Arab justice with a permanent Supreme Court seat.
Read the story
The First Knesset in session, February 1949. File photo by Moshe Marlin Levin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1949
Arab citizens vote in Israel's first Knesset election.
Read the story
Where each fact was read.
Sources read on 1 November 2026.