Irish heads of government since 1919

Ireland

The head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland is known as the Taoiseach and heads a cabinet called the Government. However, since 1919, heads of government in the Irish state have borne a number of titles. Under the short-lived Irish Republic of 1919–22 the head of government was known first as the President of Dáil Éireann and later as the President of the Republic. Under the Irish Free State of 1922–37 the head of government was the President of the Executive Council. There also briefly existed, immediately before the creation of the Irish Free State, an interim office of Chairman of the Provisional Government. For a brief period in 1921 the offices of President of the Republic and Chairman of the Provisional Government existed simultaneously.

Offices

Head Deputy Cabinet State Constitution Date
President of Dáil Éireann/Príomh Aire
President of the Irish Republic[1]		 N/A Aireacht (Ministry) Irish Republic Dáil Constitution 21 January 1919 – 6 December 1922
26 August 1921 – 6 December 1922
Chairman of the Provisional Government N/A Provisional Government Southern Ireland Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922 3 May 1921 – 6 December 1922
President of the Executive Council Vice-President Executive Council Irish Free State Constitution of the Irish Free State 6 December 1922 – 29 December 1937
Taoiseach Tánaiste Government Ireland Constitution of Ireland 29 December 1937 – present

List of office-holders

No. Name Picture Birth–Death Entered Office Left Office Party
1 Cathal Brugha 1874–1922 21 January 1919 1 April 1919 Sinn Féin
2 Éamon de Valera 1882–1975 1 April 1919 9 January 1922 Sinn Féin
3 Arthur Griffith[2] 1872–1922 10 January 1922 12 August 1922 Sinn Féin
(Pro-Treaty faction)
4 Michael Collins[2] 1890–1922 16 January 1922 22 August 1922 Sinn Féin
(Pro-Treaty faction)
5 W. T. Cosgrave 1880–1965 22 August 1922 9 March 1932 Cumann na nGaedheal[3]
(2) Éamon de Valera 1882–1975 9 March 1932 18 February 1948 Fianna Fáil[4]
6 John A. Costello 1891–1976 18 February 1948 13 June 1951 Fine Gael[5]
(2) Éamon de Valera 1882–1975 13 June 1951 2 June 1954 Fianna Fáil
(6) John A. Costello 1891–1976 2 June 1954 20 March 1957 Fine Gael
(2) Éamon de Valera 1882–1975 20 March 1957 23 June 1959 Fianna Fáil
7 Seán Lemass 1899–1971 23 June 1959 10 November 1966 Fianna Fáil
8 Jack Lynch 1917–1999 10 November 1966 14 March 1973 Fianna Fáil
9 Liam Cosgrave 1920– 14 March 1973 5 July 1977 Fine Gael
(8) Jack Lynch 1917–1999 5 July 1977 11 December 1979 Fianna Fáil
10 Charles Haughey 1925–2006 11 December 1979 30 June 1981 Fianna Fáil
11 Garret FitzGerald 1926–2011 30 June 1981 9 March 1982 Fine Gael
(10) Charles Haughey 1925–2006 9 March 1982 14 December 1982 Fianna Fáil
(11) Garret FitzGerald 1926–2011 14 December 1982 10 March 1987 Fine Gael
(10) Charles Haughey 1925–2006 10 March 1987 11 February 1992 Fianna Fáil
12 Albert Reynolds 1932–2014 11 February 1992 15 December 1994 Fianna Fáil
13 John Bruton 1947– 15 December 1994 26 June 1997 Fine Gael
14 Bertie Ahern 1951– 26 June 1997 7 May 2008 Fianna Fáil
15 Brian Cowen 1960– 7 May 2008 9 March 2011 Fianna Fáil
16 Enda Kenny 1951– 9 March 2011 14 June 2017 Fine Gael
17 Leo Varadkar 1979– 14 June 2017 Incumbent Fine Gael

Northern Ireland

The most recent devolved cabinet in Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland Executive, established under the Good Friday Agreement. The Executive has been in operation, intermittently, since 1999; but has existed continuously since 2007. Since 1921, there have been three different prime ministerial offices in Northern Ireland. The most recent structure, the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, represents a diarchy. As such, there is no longer a singular executive office, but rather a dual office.

Offices

Head Cabinet Date
Prime Minister Government 7 June 1921 – 30 March 1972
Chief Executive Executive (Sunningdale) 1 January 1974 – 28 May 1974
First Minister and deputy First Minister Executive 1 July 1998 – present

List of office-holders

No. Name Picture Birth–Death Entered Office Left Office Party
1 Sir James Craig[6] 1871–1940 7 June 1921 24 November 1940 Ulster Unionist Party
2 John Miller Andrews 1871–1956 25 November 1940 1 May 1943 Ulster Unionist Party
3 Sir Basil Brooke[7] 1888–1973 1 May 1943 25 March 1963 Ulster Unionist Party
4 Terence O'Neill 1914–1990 25 March 1963 1 May 1969 Ulster Unionist Party
5 James Chichester-Clark 1923–2002 1 May 1969 23 March 1971 Ulster Unionist Party
6 Brian Faulkner 1921–1977 23 March 1971 30 March 1972 Ulster Unionist Party
(6) Brian Faulkner 1921–1977 1 January 1974 28 May 1974 Ulster Unionist Party
First Ministers
1 David Trimble 1944– 1 July 1998 14 October 2002 Ulster Unionist Party
2 Ian Paisley 1926–2014 8 May 2007 5 June 2008 Democratic Unionist Party
3 Peter Robinson 1948– 5 June 2008 11 January 2016 Democratic Unionist Party
4 Arlene Foster 1970– 11 January 2016 9 January 2017 Democratic Unionist Party
Deputy First Ministers
1 Seamus Mallon 1936– 1 July 1998 6 November 2001 Social Democratic and Labour Party
2 Mark Durkan 1960– 6 November 2001 14 October 2002 Social Democratic and Labour Party
3 Martin McGuinness 1950–2017 8 May 2007 9 January 2017 Sinn Féin

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The President of Dáil Éireann, also known as the Príomh Aire, was upgraded to a head of state-level President of the Irish Republic in August 1921.
  2. 1 2 From January to August 1922 there were two administrations operating in parallel, the Ministry of the self-declared independent Irish Republic and the Provisional Government accepted by the United Kingdom, and each cabinet had an overlapping membership. De Valera had filled both posts, but after his resignation there were two heads of government, Arthur Griffith, as President of the Republic, and Michael Collins as Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland. This anomalous situation came about because the British Government would only recognise the parliament that it had established through the Government of Ireland Act, so Sinn Féin participated in the charade to move matters along. To add to the confusion, Collins was Griffith's Minister of Finance, while Griffith was Collins's Minister for Foreign Affairs. The dual leadership came to an end when W. T. Cosgrave assumed both offices on the deaths of Griffith, on 12 August 1922, and Collins, on 22 August, and merged the two parallel administrations.
  3. ↑ When W. T. Cosgrave first became head of government he was still technically a member of Sinn Féin. However the pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin reformed itself as Cumann na nGaedheal shortly afterwards.
  4. ↑ Successor of the Sinn Féin Anti-Treaty faction
  5. ↑ Successor of Cumann na nGaedheal and two more parties.
  6. ↑ After 1927, the Viscount Craigavon
  7. ↑ After 1952, the Viscount Brookeborough
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