Family

Livni was born in 1958 in Tel Aviv. Her parents both belonged to the right-wing revisionist Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and were fighters in the Irgun-“Etzel” underground militia that fought against the British for the establishment of the State of Israel. Her father Eitan was the Irgun’s chief operation officer who met her mother Sara, a combat fighter, in an Irgun raid on a British Mandatory money train. Both her parents were arrested by the British, and heroically escaped.

Livni’s parents were the first couple to get married in the newly declared State of Israel. Her father became a Likud Member of the Knesset.

Livni is married to Naftali and is a mother of two sons.

Army service

Livni served in the IDF – Israel Defense Forces. She graduated officer course with distinction, gaining the rank of First Lieutenant, and serving as platoon commander in Officers School.

Mossad

Livni served in the Mossad, including an operational course and a one-year mission in Paris.

Law firm

After graduating from Bar Ilan Law School, Livni practiced law in her law firm, specializing in commercial, constitutional, and real-estate law.

Head of Government Companies Authority

Livni served as director general  of the government-owned Companies Authority, one of only a few women at that time to have held this high governmental position. In this capacity she advanced changes in Israel’s economy through opening up markets for competition and privatizing government-owned enterprises.

Ministerial and political positions

Livni was first elected to Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, in 1999

Livni’s ministerial prominent positions

• Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Prime minister (the first woman to hold this position since Golda Meir.)
• Minister of Justice;
• Minister of Regional Cooperation
• Chief negotiator for peace with the Palestinians
• Minister of Immigrant Absorption;
• Minister of Housing and Construction;
• Minister of Agriculture;
• Leader of the opposition
• Leader of center party Kadima the biggest party in the parliament (Livni ran for office won the popular votes but Netanyahu form the government)and later leader of Hatnua party.                                                  

Livni is the most prominent leader promoting peace  with the Palestinians, based on the vision of two states for two peoples as a means of keeping the values of Israel as a Jewish-Democratic state. 

Livni was the chief negotiator in the last two rounds of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and reached an understanding with the Palestinians that their future state will be demilitarized.

Livni also established relationships based on trust with Arab and Muslim states, including those that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Livni served as a member of the Israeli National Security Cabinet and the Senior Security Cabinet during the Second Lebanon War against Hezbollah and initiated Security Council resolutions that enabled the war to come to an end. She was a member of the Security Cabinet during military operations against Hamas in Gaza, and was a member of the Security “Trio” that decided to attack the Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007.

Livni is known for her integrity in politics and was granted the Quality of Governance Award for her unique contribution to reinforcing the rule of law and protecting the principles of democracy, as well as for her contribution to the quality of immigrant absorption in Israel.

In 2007, Livni was recognized by Time magazine, who named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

 Livni is

• a board member of ICG -International Crisis Group
• a member of The Aspen Ministers Forum
• a member of the international group of leaders who wrote the Declaration of Principles for Freedom Prosperity and Peace. An Atlantic council bipartisan initiative for democracy.
• fellow in Harvard Kennedy School (fisher family fellowship)