Re-elected in 1977, 1981, 1984 and 1988, Namir ran in the Labor Party leadership election in 1992, but came fourth. After retaining her seat in the 1992 elections she was appointed Minister of the Environment in Yitzhak Rabin's government, but was unpopular with staff in the ministry. In December that year she became Minister of Labour and Social Welfare (Rabin had kept the position free in the hope of attracting one of the ultra-orthodox parties to join the coalition), a role she retained when Shimon Peres formed a new government following Rabin's assassination.