Tánaiste

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The TánaisteTánaiste is Irish. It may be pronounced "taw-nish-tah" or "taw-nush-tah". (plural: Tánaistithe), or, more formally, An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of the Taoiseach (prime minister). The present Tánaiste is Mary Harney, TD, the leader of the Progressive Democrats party.

Overview

The office was created in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, replacing the previous office of Vice-President of the Executive Council that had existed under the Free State constitution. Tánaiste was historically an Irish word for the heir of a Gaelic king, under the system of tanistry.

The Tánaiste acts in the place of the Taoiseach during his or her temporary absence, and, until a successor has been appointed, in the event of the Taoiseach's death or permanent incapacitation. The Tánaiste must be a member of Dáil Eireann, and is ex-officio a member of the Council of State.

The title is in practice largely honorific. Under a coalition government the position is commonly held by the leader of the second-largest party who in this situation is free to head any department he or she wants. In a single-party government the Tánaiste is often an 'elder statesman' holding one of the less important ministerial portfolios.

List of Tánaistithe

{| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="CCCCCC" ! width="1%"| ! width="2%"|# ! width="20%"|Name ! width="16%"|Took Office ! width="16%"|Left Office ! width="15%"| Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |1. |Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh |December 29, 1937 |June 14, 1945 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |2. |Seán F. Lemass (1st term of 3) |June 14, 1945 |February 18, 1948 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| |3. |William Norton (1st term of 2) |February 18, 1948 |June 13, 1951 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| | |Seán F. Lemass (2nd term of 3) |June 13, 1951 |June 2, 1954 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| | |William Norton (2nd term of 2) |June 2, 1954 |March 20, 1957 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| | |Seán F. Lemass (3rd term of 3) |March 20, 1957 |June 23, 1959 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |4. |Seán MacEntee |June 23, 1959 |April 21, 1965 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |5. |Frank Aiken |April 21, 1965 |July 2, 1969 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |6. |Erskine Childers |July 2, 1969 |March 14, 1973 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| |7. |Brendan Corish |March 14, 1973 |July 5, 1977 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |8. |George Colley |July 5, 1977 |June 30, 1981 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| |9. |Michael O'Leary |June 30, 1981 |March 9, 1982 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |10. |Ray MacSharry |March 9, 1982 |December 14, 1982 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| |11. |Dick Spring (1st term of 3) |December 14, 1982 |January 20, 1987 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#6699FF| |12. |Peter Barry |January 20, 1987 |March 10, 1987 | Fine Gael |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |13. |Brian Lenihan |March 10, 1987 |October 31, 1990 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |14. |John P. Wilson |November 13, 1990 |January 12, 1993 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| | |Dick Spring (2nd term of 3) |January 12, 1993 |November 17, 1994 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor=#66BB66| |15. |Bertie Ahern |November 19, 1994 |December 15, 1994 | Fianna Fáil |- |bgcolor="#CC0000"| | |Dick Spring (3rd term of 3) |December 15, 1994 |June 26, 1997 | Labour Party |- |bgcolor="#3333CC"| |16. |Mary Harney |June 26, 1997 |Current office-holder | Progressive Democrats

Footnotes