Dermot Ahern, TD

Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
In office since	September 29, 2004
Preceded by	Brian Cowen
Born	February 2, 1955 Drogheda, County Louth
Constituency	Louth
Political party	Fianna Fáil Image File history File links Dermot_ahern. ... The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) in the Irish Government. ... // In politics The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Irish Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, TD Brian Cowen (born January 10, 1960) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dundalk Code: LH Area: 820 km² Population (2006) 110,894 Website: www. ... The Louth parliamentary constituency spans the entire area of the smallest county in Ireland, taking in Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; commonly translated roughly into English as Soldiers of Destiny (though the more literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ...

Dermot Ahern (born 2 February 1955) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician who currently serves as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He has previously served as Minister for Community, Social & Family Affairs (1997-2002) and Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources (2002-2004). Ahern has been a Teachta Dála for Louth since 1987. February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; commonly translated roughly into English as Soldiers of Destiny (though the more literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) in the Irish Government. ... A Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas or National Parliament. ... The Louth parliamentary constituency spans the entire area of the smallest county in Ireland, taking in Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early life

Dermot Ahern was born in Drogheda, County Louth in 1955. He was educated at the Marist College in Dundalk and University College Dublin. He qualified with a degree in law from the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland before embarking on a career as a solicitor. Ahern first became involved in politics when he was elected to Louth County Council as a Fianna Fáil representative in 1979. He served on that authority until 1991. Ahern was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election and has retained his seat ever since. The following year he was appointed Assistant Government Chief Whip in the government of Charles Haughey. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dundalk Code: LH Area: 820 km² Population (2006) 110,894 Website: www. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin (UCD) - is Irelands largest university, with over 20,000 students. ... See also Wikipedias Law Portal. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; commonly translated roughly into English as Soldiers of Destiny (though the more literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dáil Chamber Dáil Éireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... The Irish general election of 1987 was held on February 17, 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on January 20. ... The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 1991 the Minister for Finance, Albert Reynolds, failed in his attempt to oust Haughey as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader. Ahern supported Haughey throughout the leadership challenge and was rewarded by receiving promotion to the post of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip. Ahern was simultaneously appointed to the position of Minister of State at the Department of Defence. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Albert Reynolds (born November 3, 1932), was the eighth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. ... The Taoiseach[1] (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet. ... The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is essentially the Irish Government Chief Whip and is the most senior Minister of State. ... A Minister of State, in the Republic of Ireland, is a junior minister of non-cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the cabinet. ... The Department of Defence (An Roinn Cosanta) is the department of the Irish government that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland and abroad. ...

In February 1992 Haughey was forced to resign and Reynolds eventually succeeded in becoming party leader and Taoiseach. As a result Ahern lost his ministerial position and returned to the backbenches for the entire duration of the Fianna Fáil-Labour Party government. In 1994 Bertie Ahern (no relation) succeeded Albert Reynolds as leader of Fianna Fáil. Ahern once again returned to the senior ranks of Fianna Fáil becoming Chief Whip of the party. In 1997 Ahern was sent to London to check out rumours that another senior party member, Ray Burke, had received a payment from Joseph Murphy. The claim was denied and Burke was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs two days later following the return to power of Fianna Fáil. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Logo of the Irish Labour Party The Irish Labour Party (Irish: Páirti an Lucht Oibre) is the third largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... Raphael P. Burke (born September 30, 1943) is a former Fianna Fáil politician. ... The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) in the Irish Government. ...

Cabinet Career

Ahern was appointed Minister for Community, Social & Family Affairs. He worked hard in this portfolio and secured more funds for his department due to the sale of Telecom Éireann. As Minister Ahern also introduced the largest social welfare and pension increases in Irish history. He achieved pension rights for Irish people who had emigrated from Ireland prior to 1953. The Minister for Social & Family Affairs is the chief person at the Department of Social & Family Affairs in the Irish Government. ... The corporate logo. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ...

Following the 2002 general election Ahern was appointed Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources. In this portfolio he devised and began implementing Ireland's radical Broadband Action Plan. He was highly critical of the perceived failures of management and unions in the main telecommunications provider Eircom. He sanctioned a reform package for public service broadcasting in Ireland and introduced a Charter for Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ. He introduced a programme to provide free broadband internet access for every primary, secondary and special needs school in the State. The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday 17 May 2002, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. ... The Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources is the chief minister at the Department of the same name in the Irish Government. ... eircom Group plc is the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland. ... Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of Ireland. ...

Following a cabinet reshuffle in 2004 Ahern received the coveted position of Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is the first Louth TD to hold that position since Frank Aiken. In April 2005 Ahern was appointed one of four special envoys for United Nations reform by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. In effect the four envoys will act as Mr Annan's 'eyes and ears' around the world, presenting proposals for reform in the run-up to a special UN summit in September. Ahern will act as envoy to European countries, on top of his other duties as minister. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) in the Irish Government. ... Frank Aiken (February 13, 1898 - May 18, 1983) was a senior Irish politician. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

More recently he has announced the establishment of an Irish Volunteer Corps and a Rapid Response Corps which would harness existing expertise amongst the Irish public to assist in the developing world. As Minister he has also lead a national campaign to secure a path to permanent residency for the 25,000 - 50,000 undocumented Irish citizens resident in the United States.

As Foreign Minister Ahern has also been heavily involved in the Northern Ireland peace process. He has introduced free passports for Irish senior citizens. When discussing the history of Northern Ireland, the peace process is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of The Troubles, the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement, and subsequent political developments. ...

The future

Ahern is regarded as a possible candidate for a future leader of the Fianna Fáil Party. In an interview given to the Sunday Business Post on 29 January 2006, he confirmed that he would stand in any forthcoming Fianna Fáil leadership contest. Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; commonly translated roughly into English as Soldiers of Destiny (though the more literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Thomas Crosbie Holdings Limited. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Trivia

Ahern is a former Ulster Windsurfing Champion and is a distant relation of the British Labour Party MP Clare Short. Statistics Area: 24,481 km² Population (2006 estimate) 1,993,918 Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ... Windsurfing is a surface water sport involving a windsurf board, usually two to five meters long and powered by a single sail. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or social democratic political party in Britain (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Clare Short (born 15 February 1946) is a British Labour Party politician. ...

Political career