1. Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir and Gro Brundtland all proved they had the character to lead their countries in tough political arenas that in two of those cases would cost them their lives.

2. Golda Meir once said that she believed the Arabs would one day make peace because an "Arab mother who loses a son in battle weeps as bitterly as any Israeli mother."

3. Golda Meir was the inspirational leader of Israel, a nation surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors that refused to concede its right to exist.

4. In 1978, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir died in Jerusalem at age 80.

5. Once called "the only man in the Cabinet," Golda Meir was a formidable figure in Israeli politics.

6. In 1971, Prime Minister Golda Meir agreed, and Mr. Hermann was paid $10,000.

7. congresswomen, TV anchors, and a photo of Golda Meir on a bearskin rug are above.

8. Thatcher thus takes her place alongside Israel's Golda Meir, India's Indira Gandhi and Sri Lanka's Sirimavo Bandaranaike as modern women politicians who have made it to the top.

9. Golda Meir, Israel Once called "the only man in the Cabinet," Golda Meir was a formidable figure in Israeli politics.