Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
| Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach |
| Inaugural holder | George Noble Plunkett |
| Formation | 22 January 1919 |
| Website |
www |
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Irish: An tAire Gnóthaí Eachtracha agus Trádála) is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Government of Ireland. The Minister's office is located at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole. From 1922 until 1971 the title of the office was "Minister for External Affairs".
The current office holder is Charles Flanagan, TD. He is assisted by:
- Jimmy Deenihan, TD – Minister of State for the Diaspora
- Seán Sherlock, TD – Minister of State for Overseas Development Assistance, Trade Promotion and North/South Cooperation
- Dara Murphy, TD – Minister of State for European Affairs and Data Protection
Overview
The department has the following divisions:
- Finance Unit – oversees the financial control of the department.
- Anglo-Irish Division – deals with Anglo-Irish relations and Northern Ireland.
- Cultural Division – administers the state's Cultural Relations Programme.
- European Union Division – coordinates the state's approach within the European Union (EU).
- Development Cooperation Division – responsible for the Irish Aid programme and for Irish international development policy.
- Passport and Consular Division – is responsible for the issuing of passports to Irish citizens.
- Political Division – is responsible for international political issues and manages the state's participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
- Protocol Division – is responsible for the organisation and management of visits of VIPs to the state and of visits abroad by the President of Ireland.
The Minister has responsibility for the relations between Ireland and foreign states. The department defines its role as
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministers of State and the Government on all aspects of foreign policy and coordinates Ireland's response to international developments. It also provides advice and support on all issues relevant to the pursuit of peace, partnership and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, and between North and South of the island, and to deepening Ireland's relationship with Britain."[1]
List of office-holders
Iveagh House, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | George Noble Plunkett | 22 January 1919 | 26 August 1921 | Sinn Féin | |
| 2. | Arthur Griffith[2] (1st time) | 26 August 1921 | 9 January 1922 | Sinn Féin | |
| 3. | George Gavan Duffy | 10 January 1922 | 25 July 1922 | Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin | |
| Arthur Griffith (2nd time) | 26 July 1922 | 12 August 1922 | Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin | ||
| 4. | Michael Hayes | 21 August 1922 | 9 September 1922 | Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin | |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| 5. | Desmond FitzGerald | 30 August 1922 | 23 June 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | |
| 6. | Kevin O'Higgins | 23 June 1927 | 10 July 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | |
| 7. | W. T. Cosgrave (acting) | 10 July 1927 | 11 October 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | |
| 8. | Patrick McGilligan | 11 October 1927 | 9 March 1932 | Cumann na nGaedheal | |
| 9. | Éamon de Valera[3] | 9 March 1932 | 18 February 1948 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 10. | Seán MacBride | 18 February 1948 | 13 June 1951 | Clann na Poblachta | |
| 11. | Frank Aiken (1st time) | 13 June 1951 | 2 June 1954 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 12. | Liam Cosgrave | 2 June 1954 | 20 March 1957 | Fine Gael | |
| Frank Aiken (2nd time) | 20 March 1957 | 2 July 1969 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 13. | Patrick Hillery | 2 July 1969 | 3 March 1971 | Fianna Fáil | |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| Patrick Hillery | 3 March 1971 | 3 January 1973 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 14. | Brian Lenihan (1st time) | 3 January 1973 | 14 March 1973 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 15. | Garret FitzGerald | 14 March 1973 | 5 July 1977 | Fine Gael | |
| 16. | Michael O'Kennedy | 5 July 1977 | 11 December 1979 | Fianna Fáil | |
| Brian Lenihan (2nd time) | 12 December 1979 | 30 June 1981 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 17. | John Kelly[4] | 30 June 1981 | 21 October 1981 | Fine Gael | |
| 18. | James Dooge | 21 October 1981 | 9 March 1982 | Fine Gael | |
| 19. | Gerry Collins (1st time) | 9 March 1982 | 14 December 1982 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 20. | Peter Barry[5] | 14 December 1982 | 10 March 1987 | Fine Gael | |
| Brian Lenihan (3rd time) | 10 March 1987 | 12 July 1989 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Gerry Collins (2nd time) | 12 July 1989 | 11 February 1992 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 21. | David Andrews (1st time) | 11 February 1992 | 12 January 1993 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 22. | Dick Spring (1st time) | 12 January 1993 | 17 November 1994 | Labour Party | |
| 23. | Albert Reynolds (acting) | 18 November 1994 | 15 December 1994 | Fianna Fáil | |
| Dick Spring (2nd time) | 15 December 1994 | 26 June 1997 | Labour Party | ||
| 24. | Ray Burke | 26 June 1997 | 7 October 1997 | Fianna Fáil | |
| David Andrews (2nd time) | 8 October 1997 | 27 January 2000 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 25. | Brian Cowen | 27 January 2000 | 29 September 2004 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 26. | Dermot Ahern | 29 September 2004 | 7 May 2008 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 27. | Micheál Martin | 7 May 2008 | 19 January 2011 | Fianna Fáil | |
| Brian Cowen (2nd time) | 19 January 2011 | 9 March 2011 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| 28. | Eamon Gilmore | 9 March 2011 | 11 July 2014 | Labour Party | |
| 29. | Charles Flanagan | 11 July 2014 | Incumbent | Fine Gael | |
See also
References
- ↑ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: The Role of the Department
- ↑ On the first occasion he held the foreign affairs portfolio, Arthur Griffith's official title was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
- ↑ Éamon de Valera, who was head of government (President of the Executive Council until 1937, renamed Taoiseach in 1937) served as his own foreign minister.
- ↑ When Garret FitzGerald formed a government in mid 1981 he announced that he would be appointing James Dooge to be a senator and once in office would make him minister. However as the appointment could not be made until Seanad Éireann's general election had taken place (which would be a few weeks), in the interim the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, John Kelly, would act as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- ↑ When the Labour Party withdrew from cabinet in early 1987, a new interim cabinet, made up simply of the outgoing Fine Gael ministers, was formed. Peter Barry continued on as Foreign Minister in that short-lived Fine Gael cabinet.
External links
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