Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni (Hebrew: ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני‎, pronounced [tsipoˈʁa malˈka ˈtsipi ˈlivni]; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat and lawyer.

"[7][8][9][10][11][12] From 2001 to 2009, Livni served in the cabinets of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, most notably as foreign minister, during which time she led multiple rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians.

[13] Later that year, Livni founded a new party, Hatnuah,[14] to compete in the 2013 elections, after which she was appointed Justice Minister in the Thirty-third government of Israel, again leading a new round of Israeli–Palestinian peace talks.

In this capacity, Livni's prominence on the national stage grew, and she was considered a person of integrity who stood on the side of the rule of law, particularly with respect to various corruption cases attributed to different members of her party.

[37] Her record for pragmatism as foreign minister earned her a high level of respect among US, European, and even Arab diplomatic circles, that has lasted even after she left the post.

[47] In 2008, Livni condemned a photomontage of Pope Benedict XVI with a swastika displayed on his chest, which was published on a website run by supporters of her Kadima party.

[48] Facing multiple criminal investigations for corruption, Ehud Olmert announced his intention to resign his post as prime minister following a Kadima leadership election, which was held on 17 September 2008.

[56][57] Livni was able to sign a coalition agreement with the Labor party, led by former prime minister Ehud Barak,[58] but on 26 October, informed the President that she was unable to form a government and suggested Israel go to elections.

Livni cited her unwillingness to sell out her principles just to become prime minister, stating, "I was willing to pay a price to form a government, but I was never willing to risk the political and economic future of Israel.

[61] The New York Times commended Livni for "refusing the extortionist conditions set by Shas," and endorsed her candidacy for prime minister, saying Israelis would have "a clear choice in February between a leader who has the courage to abandon tired old thinking on politics and security and one who has not.

Livni advocated that "the international community must adopt at the global level what true democracies apply at the national one—a universal code for participation in democratic elections.

This would include requiring every party running for office to renounce violence, pursue its aims by peaceful means and commit to binding laws and international agreements."

She added: "The intent here is not to stifle disagreement, exclude key actors from the political process or suggest that democracy be uniform and disregard local cultures and values.

Livni referred to the Goldstone Report accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, and said there was a huge ethical gap between those seeking to murder children in their homes and those unintentionally harming civilians used by terrorists as human shields.

After a draft document authored by Sweden (the then-holder of the rotating EU presidency) surfaced that calls officially for a division of Jerusalem and implies that the EU would also recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, Livni wrote a letter to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, saying it was "wrong and not helpful," and that she conveyed "deep concern regarding what appears to be an attempt to prejudge the outcome of issues reserved for final status negotiations."

European efforts to "dictate for either party the nature of the outcome on the status of Jerusalem," she said, would only serve to endanger the fulfillment of "our shared vision of two states for two peoples into a reality.

"[88] In December 2009, a warrant for Livni's arrest was understood to have been issued by a British court, following an application by lawyers acting for Palestinian victims of Operation Cast Lead.

For several years, Palestinian activists have made largely unsuccessful attempts to prosecute Israeli officials in European courts under universal jurisdiction.

Judges in the United Kingdom can issue arrest warrants for war crimes suspects around the world under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 without any requirement to consult public prosecutors, which was something Miliband described as "unusual".

[94] J Street applauded Miliband's rejection of the warrant and "his promise to pursue a change in the law that would prevent unfortunate events like these from happening in the future.

Livni's office later stated that Brown promised to seek legislative changes to ensure no Israeli official would risk arrest while on British soil.

Israeli officials, acting under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the British ambassador they expect quick action to change the law.

[98] In 2011, private groups asked the UK Crown Prosecution Service to issue an arrest warrant against Livni under universal jurisdiction because of her alleged role in Israeli military action against Gaza in December 2008.

Commenting on decisions she made, which may have contributed to her loss, she stated "I am not sorry for not backing down in the face of political blackmail—even when the price was being in the government—and for not willing to sell the country to the ultra-Orthodox," adding "And I'm definitely not sorry for the main issue I promoted.

Given her clout and experience with Western leaders, Netanyahu unofficially charged Livni with overseeing Israel's diplomatic relations with the United States and Europe, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman playing a lesser role.

[citation needed] Livni led the Israeli negotiation team in the peace talks, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Middle East envoy Martin Indyk from July 2013 until April 2014.

[107] In late December 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry told European Union ambassadors that his stance against a unilateral Palestinian measure at the UN Security Council was influenced by his talks with Livni and former president Shimon Peres, who said such a move could serve the political interests of those opposing the peace process such as Netanyahu and Naftuli Bennet.

They proposed to share the role of prime minister (an arrangement known in the Knesset as rotation) if they won enough votes, though Livni also stated she would step back if her participation presented a hurdle to coalition building.

[111] Many opinion polls during the campaign showed Likud and the Zionist Union in dead heat, and the few weeks leading up to the elections suggested Livni and Herzog had overtaken Netanyahu, and would emerge with a plurality of voters.

In August 2015, in response to the submission of a motion to raise the Palestinian flag at the UN headquarters, Livni initiated the creation of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee on International Lawfare, which she chaired.