Ben-Gurion, << behn GOO rih uhn, >> David (1886-1973), served as Israel’s first prime minister after it became independent in 1948. He served as prime minister and minister of defense from 1948 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1963.
During the Suez crisis of 1956, Ben-Gurion ordered the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula. Later, Israeli forces withdrew at the request of the United Nations.
Ben-Gurion was born David Green in Plonsk, Russia (now in Poland) on Oct. 16, 1886. He settled in Palestine in 1906. By 1919, he was a Zionist leader, working to create a Jewish state in Palestine. In 1930, he founded the Mapai (Israel Workers’ Party). He was a secretary-general of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) from 1921 to 1935.
As chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Palestine from 1935 to 1948, Ben-Gurion directed all Jewish affairs in the country. His activities ranged from land development and settlement of immigrants to secret activities against Arabs and the British. Ben-Gurion retired in 1963. He died on Dec. 1, 1973.
