Mapai was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Israeli Labor Party in 1968. During Mapai's time in office, a wide range of progressive reforms were carried out, as characterised by the establishment of a welfare state, providing minimum income, security, and free access to housing subsidies and health and social services.
Yosef Aharon Almogi was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1955 and 1977, as well as holding several ministerial posts.
Aluf Aharon Remez was an Israeli civil servant, politician and diplomat, and the second commander of the Israeli Air Force.
Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset. It is known today as the First Knesset.
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.
Sephardim and Oriental Communities was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the Likud party.
The United Religious Front was a political alliance of the four major religious parties in Israel, as well as the Union of Religious Independents, formed to fight in the 1949 elections.
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.
Hapoel HaMizrachi was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home.
Poalei Agudat Yisrael was a trade union and Jewish political party in Poland and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym.
Mizrachi was a political party in Israel, and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day National Religious Party–Religious Zionism.
Dov Yosef was an Israeli statesman. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he was in charge of Jerusalem. He later held ministerial positions in nine Israeli governments.
David Remez was an Israeli politician, the country's first Minister of Transportation, and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.
The first government of Israel formed by David Ben-Gurion on 8 March 1949, a month and a half after the elections for the first Knesset. His Mapai party formed a coalition with the United Religious Front, the Progressive Party, the Sephardim and Oriental Communities and the Democratic List of Nazareth, and there were 12 ministers.
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine, and later the newly established State of Israel, until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year.
The eighth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion on 7 January 1958, and was the second government of the third Knesset. Ben-Gurion kept the same coalition partners as during the previous government, i.e. Mapai, the National Religious Party, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda, the Progressive Party, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work and Agriculture and Development. The only change to the cabinet was the addition of Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir as a Deputy Minister.
The tenth government of Israel was formed on 2 November 1961 following the August elections. Although David Ben-Gurion was appointed Prime Minister, the government was actually formed by Minister of Finance Levi Eshkol. On 7 September Ben-Gurion had told President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi that he was unable to form a government; on 14 September Ben-Zvi asked Eshkol to form a government, with Eshkol subsequently announcing that he would do so with Ben-Gurion as PM. It turned out to be the last government led by Ben-Gurion.
The eleventh government of Israel was formed on 26 June 1963, midway through the fifth Knesset. It was the first government formed by Levi Eshkol following the second resignation of David Ben-Gurion.
Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit was an Israeli politician, minister and the only signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence to have been born in the country. He served as Minister of Police from independence in 1948 until shortly before his death in 1967, making him the longest-serving cabinet member in the same portfolio to date.
The Minister of Rationing and Supply was a short-lived portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. It was created on 26 April 1949 following a speech by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion introducing the country's austerity programme, and was held by Dov Yosef. However, Ben-Gurion soon wanted the ministry closed down, and achieved his goal when forming the second government in October/November 1950.
