1. Widely considered the most powerful woman in Israel since Golda Meir, Tzipi Livni has served in eight different cabinet positions throughout her career, setting the record for most government roles held by an Israeli woman.
51 Facts About Tzipi Livni
1. 2.
Tzipi Livni has been the first female Israeli vice prime minister, justice minister, agriculture minister, and housing minister.
3.
From 2001 to 2009, Tzipi 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.
4.
In September 2008, Tzipi Livni prepared to take office as prime minister, but the political climate in the country prevented her from forming a government.
5.
On 18 February 2019, following several weeks of poor poll results, Tzipi Livni announced her retirement from politics as well as Hatnuah's withdrawal from the election.
6.
Tzipi Livni's father served as the chief operations officer of the Irgun.
7.
Tzipi Livni served in the IDF, attaining the rank of Lieutenant.
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Tzipi Livni began studying law at Bar-Ilan University in 1979, but suspended her law studies when she joined the Mossad in 1980.
9.
Tzipi Livni served in the Mossad from 1980 to 1984, between the ages of 22 and 26.
10.
Tzipi Livni resigned from the Mossad in August 1984 to marry and finish her law studies.
11.
Tzipi Livni 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.
12.
Besides her native language, Hebrew, Tzipi Livni speaks fluent English and French, having lived in Paris for a number of years.
13.
Tzipi 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.
14.
Tzipi Livni was first elected to the Knesset as a member of the Likud in 1999.
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Tzipi Livni initially did not take an active role in lawmaking.
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In 2004, Tzipi Livni was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction, which she held this position until 2005.
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Tzipi Livni was an avid supporter of Sharon's disengagement plan, and was generally considered to be among the key moderate members of the Likud party.
18.
Tzipi Livni often mediated between various elements inside the party, and was integral to garnering government support for disengagement with the "Livni Plan".
19.
In 2006, Tzipi Livni was appointed as Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
20.
In Ehud Olmert's government, Tzipi Livni was appointed Designated Acting Prime Minister, taking the place of the prime minister if he or she is outside the country or temporarily or permanently unable to fulfill his or her duties.
21.
Tzipi Livni ceased serving as Justice Minister at that time, but again held that position from 29 November 2006 to 7 February 2007, while still serving in her primary role of Foreign Minister.
22.
Tzipi Livni is the second woman in Israel to hold the post of foreign minister, after Golda Meir.
23.
Tzipi Livni became the first Israeli cabinet minister to explicitly differentiate Palestinian guerrilla attacks against Israeli military targets from terrorist attacks against civilians.
24.
On 2 May 2007, Tzipi Livni called for Olmert's resignation in the wake of the publication of the Winograd Commission's interim report criticizing Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for their handling of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
25.
Tzipi Livni offered herself as leader of Kadima if Olmert decided to step down, and asserted her confidence in her ability to defeat him in a party election should he decline.
26.
In 2008, Tzipi Livni condemned a photomontage of Pope Benedict XVI with a swastika displayed on his chest, which was published on a website run by supporters of her Kadima party.
27.
Tzipi Livni won the Kadima leadership election by a margin of just 431 votes.
28.
Tzipi Livni faced tough negotiations with Kadima's coalition partners, particularly the Shas party, which had set conditions for joining a Tzipi Livni government, including an increase in child allowances to Haredi communities, and a vow not to negotiate the status of Jerusalem during peace talks with the Palestinians.
29.
When Tzipi Livni was tapped to form the next governing coalition, Palestinian political analyst Mahdi Abdel Hadi said that Tzipi Livni had been received warmly in the Gulf, and that she was the leader most Arabs want to see as Israel's next prime minister.
30.
Tzipi Livni said Iran was a threat to other countries in the region, and Iran must be stopped from attaining nuclear weapons.
31.
Tzipi Livni voiced support for Israel's gay community ahead of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in June 2009.
32.
Tzipi Livni addressed an event held at the gay community's municipal center in Tel Aviv's Meir Park.
33.
On 8 October 2009, Tzipi Livni was honored by Yale University as a Chubb Fellow for her work and the inspiration spurred by her activities.
34.
Tzipi Livni is the third Israeli leader to receive this honor after Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan.
35.
Tzipi Livni referred to the Goldstone Report accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, and said there was a huge ethical gap between those seeking to murder children in their homes and those unintentionally harming civilians used by terrorists as human shields.
36.
At her next stop in Miami, Tzipi Livni became the first Israeli woman to receive the International Hall of Fame Award from the International Women's Forum.
37.
In December 2009, Tzipi Livni travelled to Paris and met with French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
38.
In December 2009, a warrant for Tzipi Livni's arrest was understood to have been issued by a British court, following an application by lawyers acting for Palestinian victims of Operation Cast Lead.
39.
The warrant was issued on 12 December and revoked on 14 December 2009, after it was revealed that Tzipi Livni had not entered British territory.
40.
Tzipi Livni called the arrest warrant "an abuse of the British legal system".
41.
On 19 January 2012, Tzipi Livni set the primary date for 27 March 2012.
42.
Tzipi Livni lost by a wide margin to challenger and former defense minister Shaul Mofaz.
43.
In May 2012, despite Mofaz's appeal for her to remain in the party, Tzipi Livni resigned from the Knesset.
44.
Tzipi Livni stated that although she was leaving the Knesset, she was not retiring from public life, as Israel was "too dear" to her.
45.
On 27 November 2012, Tzipi Livni announced the establishment of a new party, called Hatnua.
46.
Tzipi Livni was joined by seven members of Knesset from the Kadima Party: Yoel Hasson, Robert Tiviaev, Majalli Wahabi, Orit Zuaretz, Rachel Adato, Shlomo Molla and Meir Sheetrit as well as former Labor Party leaders Amram Mitzna and Amir Peretz.
47.
Tzipi Livni led the Israeli negotiation team in the peace talks, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Middle East envoy Martin Indyk from July 2013 until April 2014.
48.
Tzipi Livni continued on as justice minister until 2 December 2014, when a coalition crisis over multiple policy disagreements boiled over, and Netanyahu fired Tzipi Livni along with Finance Minister Yair Lapid from their posts, accusing the two of plotting to overthrow the government.
49.
Tzipi Livni served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
50.
In September 2019, Tzipi Livni was named a Fisher Family Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.
51.
Tzipi Livni lauded Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, stating that Biden is committed to democratic principles and that his election is "a blessing" for the United States, Israel, and the rest of the free world.