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.
Ben-Gurion resigned on 15 October 1950 after the United Religious Front objected to his demands that the Supply and Rationing Ministry be closed and a businessman appointed as Minister for Trade and Industry, as well as issues over education in the new immigrant camps.
| The Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Person | Party |
| Prime Minister Minister of Defense |
David Ben-Gurion | Mapai |
| Minister of Agriculture Minister of Rationing and Supply |
Dov Yosef | Mapai |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Zalman Shazar | Mapai |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Moshe Sharett | Mapai |
| Minister of Finance Minister of Trade and Industry |
Eliezer Kaplan | Mapai |
| Minister of Health Minister of Immigration Minister of Internal Affairs |
Haim-Moshe Shapira | United Religious Front |
| Minister of Justice | Pinchas Rosen | Progressive Party |
| Minister of Labour and Social Security | Golda Meir | Mapai |
| Minister of Police | Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit | Sephardim and Oriental Communities |
| Minister of Religions and War Victims | Yehuda Leib Maimon | United Religious Front |
| Minister of Transportation | David Remez | Mapai |
| Minister of Welfare | Yitzhak-Meir Levin | United Religious Front |
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