David Ben-Gurion (Hebrew: דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן‎; pronounced [daˈvɪd ben gurˈjo:n], born David Grün; 16 October 1886, Płońsk – 1 December 1973, Tel Aviv, Israel) was the primary founder of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946.