Born in Poland, he emigrated to Palestine in 1906, where he became an active Zionist. He was elected leader of the predominant socialist faction (the Mapai Party) of the Zionist movement in 1930. When the state of Israel was established in 1948, he became the country’s first Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. After expulsion from the Labour Party in 1965 he formed a new party with Moshe Dayan.