Ora Namir
Ora NamirMoshe Shai/Flash90

Former MK and Minister Ora Namir passed away on Saturday night. She was 88 years old.

Namir was born in Hadera in 1930. During the War of Independence, she served as an officer in the IDF, and served as Secretary of the Mapai faction during the Second Knesset.

She married Mordechai Namir, who later became mayor of Tel Aviv. In 1974 she was first elected to the Knesset and served there continuously until 1996.

During her years in the Knesset, Namir served as Chairman of the Education and Culture Committee and Chairperson of the Labor and Social Affairs Committee. In the second Rabin government, Namir was appointed a minister. At first she served for a short period as a minister for the environment and later served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

After Rabin's assassination Namir was appointed Israeli ambassador to China and a non-resident ambassador to Mongolia, a position she served in for four years.

The Labor party issued a statement: "The Labor party and its leader are mourning the lesson of former Knesset Member and Minister Ora Namir, who worked extensively on social issues and fought for equality, for the sake of free education for children, for a long school day. The Labor party shares the sorrow of the family."

Labor chairman MK Amir Peretz said, "I feel the pain of Ora's death, because our personal relationship was amazing, and I loved my conversations with her. In the future, her legacy as a social warrior will be my guiding light wherever I go."