Theodor Herzl (1860–1904)

The journalist and writer Theodor Herzl provided the impetus for the foundation of the Zionist movement with his manifesto Der Judenstaat. Versuch einer modernen Lösung der Judenfrage (1896). In 1897, Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel and, in so doing, laid the foundations for the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As president of the WZO, he communicated with politicians in many countries and campaigned for the implementation of the Basel Programme, which, among other things, called for the "creation of a legally protected homeland in Palestine" for the Jews.

Portrait of Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), black-and-white photograph, 1904, unknown photographer; source: Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Theodr-Herzl-1904.jpg, public domain.