Top 10 Amazing Facts about Tzipi Livni 

Image by State Department photo by Michael Gross from Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Tzipi Livni 

Born on July 8, 1958, Tziporah Malka  Tzipi Livniis an Israeli politician, a diplomat, and a lawyer.

She currently lives with her family in Tel Aviv the capital city of Israel State.

She retired from politics in 1999 after serving in the Israeli parliament for over 20 years.

Her parents were Jewish nationalists, who fought for the establishment of the Israel State.

She is married to Naftali Spitzer and they have two children together.

Here are top 10 facts about  Tzipi Livni.

1. Tzipi Livni is a Former Member of Knesset 

Image by Yoshiko Kusano from Wikimedia

Tzipi Livni entered politics in 1996, after practicing law for over 10 years.

She unsuccessfully contested a seat in the Knesset on a Likud party in 1996.

Livni contested again in 1999 an elected as a member of the Knesset for the first time. 

The politian went on to serve as a member of six consecutive Knesset terms until 2019.

She has also served as a government minister for many years in different ministries.

2. Tzipi Livni is a Former member of IDF and the Mossad

 Tzipi Livni served in the Israel defense forces (IDF), attaining the rank of Lieutenant.

She was recruited and joined the Mossad in 1980. She served in the Mossad from 1980 to 1984.

Mossad is a secret intelligence service of the state of Israel, founded in 1951.

She was sent as a Mossad agent to Paris for two years, where she was a safe house manager.

Mossad is a secret intelligence service of the state of Israel, founded in 1951.

3. Tzipi Livni was the Chief Negotiator for Israel- Palestinian Peace Talks 

image by US state department from Wikimedia

When she served as Israel’s foreign minister, Livni was in charge of peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

She led the most fruitful round of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Tzipi Livni became the face of the peace process in Israeli politics at that time. 

She was a firm believer in two-state solutions and raised the possibility of fixing the future border between Israel and Palestine. 

One of her major recommendations was to place Israeli Arab towns within the Palestinian state.

4. Tzipi Livni is a Former Israel Foreign minister

In 2006, Livni was appointed as Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, a position she held until 2009. 

Her work as foreign minister of Israel earned her great respect among US, European, and even Arab diplomatic circles.

Her position as a foreign minister made her Israel’s leading negotiator for peace with Palestine.

The peace negotiations process was led by the former united states of America secretary of the state Robert Kelly.

Tzipi Livni is the second woman in Israel to hold the Post of foreign Minister, after Golda Meir, who served as a foreign minister from 1956 to 1966.

She was included in the Times 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2008.

Palestinian activists in London tried to get Livni arrested for her role in the war Israel waged against Gaza.

A warrant for her arrest was issued by a London court, which was later revoked.

5. Tzipi Livni is a Lawyer by Profession 

image by Israel project from Wikimedia

In 1979, She joined Bar-Ilan University to pursue a degree in bachelor of law.

Her law studies were interrupted when she joined the Mossad and was sent on a mission to Paris.

In 1984 she finished her law studies and graduated with an LL.B. from Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law.

She practiced law at a private firm from 1984 to 1996, specializing in real estate and corporate law, before entering into public life. 

6. Tzipi Livni was a Leader of the Opposition

Halifax international security forum from wikimedia

In the 2009 elections, the Kadima party, led by Livni won the most seats in Knesset.

She failed to form a government due to disagreements with other coalition parties.

Her party later joined the opposition, and she became the first Israeli female leader in the opposition.

In March 2012, she lost her position as the head of the Kadima party.

She formed the Hatnua party in 2012. 

She served as leader of the opposition again from August 2019 to January 2019.

7. Tzipi Livni is married

Tzipi Livni got married to advertising executive Naftali Spitzer in 1984.

The couple has two children together, Omri was born in1987, and later Yuval in 1990.

Her husband switched from Mapai and joined the Likud party as a show of support for his wife’s political ambitions. 

Tzipi Livni and her husband are still married and live together in Tel-Aviv. 

8. Tzipi Livni Contested to be a Prime minister

photo by Andy Mettler from Wikimedia

On 21 September 2008, Olmert, resigned from his position as a prime minister

Shimon Peres, President of Israel at that time, asked Tzipi Livni to form a new government.

Facing strong opposition from other interested parties, she failed to form a government and asked for fresh elections.

She was unwilling to sell out her fundamental political principles just to become the Prime minister.

In December 2014, Livni announced she would run for the position of prime minister along with Isaac Herzog on the Zionist Union ticket. 

Her alition with Herzog Zionist party lost the election to Netanyahu and the Likud Party.

After the final announcement of election results, the Zionist Union garnered 24 seats to the Likud’s 30 seats, and Livni and the Zionist Union went into opposition.

9 Tzipi Livni is a Political Moderate

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Initially believed in revisionist ideology and supported Israel’s permanent control over the West Bank and Gaza.

Gaza and the west bank are Palestinian settlements that were captured and occupied by Israeli forces in 1967.

She later abandoned her hard-line position accepting the need for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and large parts of the West Bank.

Livni believes Israel cannot remain a Jewish and democratic state if it continues to rule over the Palestinians in these areas.

10. Tzipi Livni Has  Retired from Politics

Livni announced her retirement from politics in 2019, after more than 20 years in active politics.

Her party also withdrew from the 2019 elections.

She is no longer active in Israel’s electoral politics.

Livni remains involved in efforts to foster and facilitate diplomacy as a tool for peace and reconciliation.