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Israel

Tzipi Livni: A militant's daughter who worked for Mossad

September 18, 2008 11:54

By

Anonymous,

Anonymous

1 min read

Born in Tel Aviv in 1958 to former leaders of the radical militant group Etzel, Tzipora Malka Livni served as an IDF lieutenant before working for Mossad in the early 1980s, when she spent time as the caretaker of a safe house in Paris. She left in 1983 to get married. An attorney by profession, she received her law degree from Bar-Ilan University before practising for 10 years in a private firm, specialising in public and commercial law.

From 1996 to 1999, she held the position of director-general of the Government Companies Authority, and was first elected to the Knesset as a Likud member in 1999. She served as a member of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and the Committee on the Status of Women.

In 2001, Livni held the Regional Cooperation and Agriculture Portfolios. In 2003, she held the portfolios of Immigrant Absorption, Housing and Construction, Justice and Foreign Affairs. From being a hawk she went on to become a firm supporter of the disengagement plan.

In late 2005, she joined the Kadima Party, formed by then-premier Ariel Sharon. In May 2006, she was appointed Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.