Enda Kenny

Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) since March 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice-President of the European People's Party.

Political Career

He turned to politics in 1975 upon the death of his father, Henry Kenny, a long-serving member of the Dáil Éireann (Ireland’s lower legislative house), representing Mayo. Kenny won a comfortable victory in a special election to fill his father’s seat, and at just age 24 he was the youngest member of the Dáil. He spent much of his early political career on the backbench, focusing on local issues. In 1994 he was appointed minister of tourism and trade in the “rainbow coalition” government of Fine Gael Taoiseach (prime minister) John Bruton. With the collapse of Bruton’s coalition in 1997, Kenny lost his portfolio, but his stature rose as the party itself declined. Weeks after the 2002 election, which saw Fine Gael win just 31 seats, Kenny was elected party leader.

He immediately set about restoring the party’s fortunes, and Fine Gael made an impressive showing in the 2007 election, capturing 51 seats. Fine Gael’s momentum continued to build as Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Brian Cowen, beset with a banking crisis and a soaring national deficit, was obliged to accept a bailout package of more than $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The Green Party withdrew from Cowen’s coalition, and the government collapsed, forcing early elections in February 2011.

Capitalizing on widespread voter dissatisfaction, Fine Gael won more than 70 seats, ending 14 years of Fianna Fáil rule, and Kenny began discussions with the Labour Party about the formation of a coalition government. After more than a week of negotiations, the details of the coalition were settled, and Kenny was formally elected taoiseach by the Dáil on March 9, 2011, by an unprecedented 90 votes.

Education

He was educated locally at St. Patrick's National School in Cornanool and St. Gerald's College (De La Salle) in Castlebar. Kenny subsequently attended St. Patrick's College of Education in Dublin and University College Galway. He briefly worked as a primary school teacher.

External Links

http://www.finegael.ie/our-people/taoiseach/enda-kenny/

http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Taoiseach_and_Government/About_the_Taoiseach/