Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel on March 17, 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. Israel's first and the world's third woman to hold such an office, she was described as the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics years before the epithet became associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.In 1974, after the end of the Yom Kippur War, Meir resigned as prime minister. She died in 1978 of leukemia.
Education
At 14, she studied at North Division High School and worked part-time. Her mother wanted her to leave school and marry, but she rebelled. She bought a train ticket to Denver, Colorado, and went to live with her married sister, Sheyna Korngold. The Korngolds held intellectual evenings at their home, where Meir was exposed to debates on Zionism, literature, women's suffrage, trade unionism, and more. In her autobiography, she wrote: "To the extent that my own future convictions were shaped and given form [...] those talk-filled nights in Denver played a considerable role." In Denver, she also met Morris Meyerson (December 17, 1893 – May 25, 1951), a sign painter, whom she later married on December 24, 1917.In 1913, she returned to North Division High, graduating in 1915. While there, she became an active member of Young Poale Zion, which later became Habonim, the Labor Zionist youth movement. She spoke at public meetings, embraced Socialist Zionism and hosted visitors from Palestine
After graduating from Milwaukee Normal, she taught in Milwaukee public schools.
Career
When the State of Israel was declared on 14 May 1948, Myerson was one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence, and she subsequently became Israel's first ambassador to the Soviet Union. Elected to the first Knesset in 1949, Myerson remained a Knesset member until her resignation from the office of prime minister in 1974. As minister of labor (1949 - 1956) she was credited with initiating major housing and road programs. During the crisis that led to the Sinai - Suez war of 1956, Myerson, a Ben-Gurion loyalist, replaced Sharett as foreign minister and Hebraicized her name to Meir. In the aftermath of the war, Meir played a major role in formulating the framework of relations between Israel, Egypt, the United States, and the United Nations. This framework called for Israel's withdrawal from Sinai and Gaza under U.S. and UN pressure; the stationing of a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Sinai; and negotiating U.S. assurances of Israel's right of free passage through the Strait of Tiran.