Tzipi Livni

Who Is Tzipi Livni?

Tzipi Livni is a politician from Israel. She is known for being a very important woman in Israeli politics.

She is also known for trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many people think she is the most powerful woman in Israel since Golda Meir.

Early Life and Background

Tzipi Livni was born on July 8, 1958.

Career and Claim to Fame

Tzipi Livni is a politician, diplomat and lawyer. She has held many important jobs in the Israeli government, including foreign minister, vice prime minister, and minister of justice.

She has held eight different cabinet positions, which is a record for a woman in Israel. You can find out more about her on her official website.

Her website is a great place to learn about her life and work as a politician.

Birthday, Age and Zodiac

Tzipi Livni was born on July 8, 1958. This makes her 68 years old.

Her zodiac sign is Cancer. People who are Cancers are often known for being kind and caring.

Fun Facts and Legacy

Tzipi Livni is a very important woman in Israeli politics. She has held many important jobs and is known for trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We know she was born on July 8, 1958 and is 68 years old. She is a living legend in Israeli politics.

She is also known for being the first woman to hold many important jobs in the Israeli government, including vice prime minister and minister of justice.

Tzipi Livni - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Tzipi Livni

Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni (Hebrew: ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני,; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former foreign minister, vice prime minister, minister of justice, and leader of the opposition. She is known by some for her efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Widely considered the most powerful woman in Israel since Golda Meir, Livni has served in eight different cabinet positions throughout her career, setting the record for most government roles held by an Israeli woman. She was the first female Israeli vice prime minister, justice minister, agriculture minister, and housing minister.

This profile of Tzipi Livni covers Early Life and Family Background, IDF service and Mossad, Education and Training, Political Views and Public Life and 1999–2005: Likud.

Born to a prominent right-wing, revisionist Zionist family, Livni has become one of Israel's leading voices in support of a two-state solution—one that ensures Israel's security and identity as a Jewish and democratic state. Among her supporters in Israel and in international media, Livni was given the nickname "Mrs. Clean" for her image as an "honest politician."

From 2001 to 2009, Livni served in the cabinets of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, most notably as foreign minister, during which time she led multiple rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians. In September 2008, Livni prepared to take office as prime minister, but the political climate in the country prevented her from forming a government. The following year, she led her party to win a plurality of seats in the Knesset, but was again blocked from becoming prime minister, due to the rightist parties' majority in the Knesset. Consequently, she served as leader of the opposition from 2009, until her resignation from the Knesset in 2012.

Later that year, Livni founded a new party, Hatnuah, to compete in the 2013 elections, after which she was appointed justice minister in the Thirty-third government of Israel, again leading a new round of Israeli–Palestinian peace talks. In December 2014, several policy disputes within the government led Benjamin Netanyahu to dismiss Livni from his cabinet, which led to new elections. In the 2015 election, Livni joined forces with Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog to create the Zionist Union, a unified bloc of their two parties. In January 2019 Avi Gabay announced that Labor would not run with Hatnuah in the April 2019 Israeli legislative election. On 18 February 2019, following several weeks of poor poll results, Livni announced her retirement from politics as well as Hatnuah's withdrawal from the election.

Early Life and Family Background of Tzipi Livni

Born in Tel Aviv, Livni is the daughter of Eitan Livni (born in Poland, now part of western Belarus) and Sara (née Rosenberg), both prominent former Irgun members. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Eitan and Sara Livni became the first couple to marry in the country of Israel. Her father served as the chief operations officer of the Irgun.

As a child, Livni was a member of the Betar youth movement and played basketball for Elitzur Tel Aviv. Growing up in an Israel dominated by the Israeli Labor Party, Livni says she felt marginalized, believing that the establishment had minimized her parents' contribution to Israel's founding. Despite the hard-line image of the Irgun, she says her parents had respect for the Arabs and acted only against the British army, not civilians.

During the 1984 Likud primaries, her father, who had served in the Knesset for Herut and Likud as a moderate, did not campaign for a seat in the Knesset, and urged party members to support a Druze candidate instead because he thought it important for Likud to have Arab representation.

IDF service and Mossad of Tzipi Livni

Livni served in the IDF, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. Livni began studying law at Bar-Ilan University in 1979, but suspended her law studies when she joined the Mossad in 1980. She served in the Mossad from 1980 to 1984, between the ages of 22 and 26. According to an interview in Yedioth Ahronoth described in The Sunday Times, she served in the elite unit responsible for the assassinations following the Munich massacre. She resigned from the Mossad in August 1984 to marry and finish her law studies.

Education and Training

Livni graduated with an LL.B. From Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law in 1984. She practiced at a private firm for about ten years, specializing in commercial law, public law, and real estate law, before entering public life in 1996.

Livni resides in Ramat HaHayal, Tel Aviv. She is married to advertising executive Naftali Spitzer, and the couple have two children, Omri (born 1987) and Yuval (born 1990). Spitzer, who was raised in a Mapai-supporting family but switched to Likud in 1996, has gone on to support his wife's political career from the start in the 1990s.

Livni is a vegetarian. Besides her native language, Hebrew, Livni also speaks fluent English and French, having lived in Paris for several years.

Livni's father, Eitan Livni, a Herut member of Knesset, died in 1991. Her mother, Sara, who died in 2007, stood by Livni's decision to leave Likud and also accepted her support for the two-state solution, although it "hurt her."

Political Views and Public Life

Livni entered politics in 1996 when she ran for a spot on Likud's Knesset list and was given place number 36 on the slate. Likud won 32 seats in the 1996 election, leaving her out, but newly elected Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed her as director general of the government-owned corporations authority, where she oversaw the privatization of several companies. While in this capacity, in 1998 she was considered a prominent candidate to become director general of the Finance Ministry.

Livni would later rue the decision to privatize certain companies and natural resources. As Hatnuah chairwoman in 2013, she wrote: "I am not sure that today I would once again privatize Israel Chemicals and the natural resources at the Dead Sea."

1999–2005: Likud

Livni was first elected to the Knesset as a member of the Likud in 1999. She initially did not take an active role in lawmaking. When Ariel Sharon became prime minister in 2001, he appointed her to numerous positions in his cabinet. Her first cabinet position as a Likud member was Minister of Regional Co-operation which she held from 7 March 2001 until 29 August 2001. In December 2002 Sharon appointed her to serve as Minister of Agriculture. She held this position until February 2003. In 2003, Livni was appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption. She held this position until 2006. In 2004, Livni was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction, a position which she held until 2005. After Shinui left the coalition, Sharon appointed her Minister of Justice. In this capacity, Livni's prominence on the national stage grew, and she was considered a person of integrity who stood on the side of the rule of law, particularly with respect to various corruption cases attributed to different members of her party.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzipi_Livni), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.