Entrusted Role Models*

Golda Meir (1898-1978), one of the founders of the State of Israel, was popularly referred to as the 'Iron lady' of Israeli politics. She served as the Minister of Labor, Foreign Minister and as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. She is the first (and to date only) female Prime Minister of Israel and was the third female Prime Minister in the world (after Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka and our very own Indira Gandhi). Father of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once described her as "the only man in the Cabinet."

My all-time favourite quote of hers, depicting to perfection, what a strong-headed unassuming lady she was: "Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!"

"At work, you think of the children you've left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself, your heart is rent."

"I must govern the clock, not be governed by it."

"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either."

"One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present."

"To be successful, a woman has to be much better at her job than a man."

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement."

"Women's liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It's men who are discriminated against. They can't bear children. And no one is likely to do anything about that."

She lived on a kibbutz (israeli collective community) after returning from the US.

N.B: Kibbutzim children shared high bonding with their parents as compared to those who were sent to boarding schools, because in a kibbutz a child spends three hours every day with his parents. It was hoped that raising children away from parents would liberate mothers from their "biological tragedy." Instead of spending hours a day raising children, women could thus be free to work or enjoy leisure.


Golda Meir was the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics years before the epithet was coined for Margaret Thatcher, my second ERM (refer the title).


Baronness Margaret Hilda Thatcher, ( b 1925)was undoubtedly one of the most significant British politicians in recent political history. She was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the longest serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century. She is also the only woman to be UK Prime Minister or leader of a major British political party.

"Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country."

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."

"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction."

"Being prime minister is a lonely job... you cannot lead from the crowd."

"Success is having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a sense of purpose."

"To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best."

N.B: Before becoming an MP, she worked as a research chemist for British Xylonite and then Lyons & Company, where she helped develop methods for preserving ice cream!


* By Uncle Vj who while telling me about my future revealed that only these two "powerful" women have performed the act of balancing a high profile career and family life to perfection and been HAPPY. Ms Meir used to cook atleast two dishes when she hosted personal gatherings while Ms Thatcher would cook breakfast for her twins.