75 A Leader of Her Country

By the 1990s, people had become accustomed to seeing women in high government posts. People were not so accustomed to this in the 1960s, however. Yet that is when Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.

Meir was born in the Ukraine. However, she emigrated to the United States with her family as a young child. She grew up in Milwaukee, where her mother ran a grocery store. Meir trained to be a schoolteacher and married when she was about twenty.

As a young woman, Meir heard stories of the struggles to establish a Jewish homeland. In 1921, she and her husband moved to Palestine to work with the Jewish groups there. She was instrumental in helping Israel become an independent state in 1948. When the new government was formed, Meir was the only woman to belong to the provisional council of state, the legislative part of the government. She took an active role in establishing policy.

In 1969, the Israeli prime minister died suddenly, and Meir was chosen as a compromise candidate for the position. She remained prime minister until 1974.

Seventy-one years old when she took office, Meir was a plain-looking, plain-dressing woman. She reminded some people of a kindly grandmother. But it was a mistake to underestimate her strength and will. She led her country through peace and war. After her death in 1978, Meir was called “one of the great women in Jewish and world history.”

75 她国家的领袖

到20世纪90年代，人们已经习惯看到女性担任政府要职。但在20世纪60年代，人们还没这么习惯，而果尔达·梅厄正是在那个时候成为了以色列总理。

梅厄出生在乌克兰，不过她小时候就和家人移民到了美国。她在密尔沃基长大，母亲在那里经营一家杂货店。梅厄接受了教师培训，在大约20岁时结婚。

年轻时，梅厄听说了建立犹太人家园的斗争故事。1921年，她和丈夫搬到巴勒斯坦，与那里的犹太团体合作。她在1948年帮助以色列成为独立国家的过程中发挥了重要作用。新政府成立时，梅厄是唯一一位进入临时国务委员会（政府的立法机构）的女性，她积极参与政策制定。

1969年，以色列总理突然去世，梅厄被选为该职位的折中候选人，她担任总理直到1974年。

梅厄就职时已经71岁，她相貌普通、穿着朴素，让一些人联想到慈祥的祖母。但低估她的力量和意志是错误的：她带领国家经历了和平与战争。1978年去世后，梅厄被称为“犹太历史和世界历史上最伟大的女性之一”。