Tánaiste

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Tánaiste [ ˈt̪ˠaːnəʃtʲə ] (pronounced "Ta-nisch-te" ; pl. Tánaistí ; mostly with an article to Tánaiste ) is the title of the Irish Vice Prime Minister and representative of the Taoiseach . The official Irish salutation is a Thánaiste [ əˈhaːnəʃtʲə ]. The Tánaiste is appointed by the Taoiseach and must be a member of the government and a member of the Dáil . The word Tánaiste comes from the Irish Táinste and has historical origins as the name of the heir of a Celtic "chief" or "chief".

The Tánaiste is the representative of the Taoiseach in the event that the Taoiseach is temporarily unable to exercise his office. In the event of death or a circumstance due to which the Taoiseach can no longer exercise his office, the Tánaiste takes over his duties until a new Taoiseach is installed. The Tánaiste, whose title is largely an honorary title, comes from the ranks of the ministers and is an ex officio member of the Irish Council of State . In the case of a coalition government, the Tánaiste usually comes from the second largest coalition party; in one-party governments this office is often taken over by an older generation politician as a sign of recognition.

List of Tánaistí

# Surname Political party
1. Seán Ó Ceallaigh December 29, 1937 June 14, 1945 Fianna Fáil
2. Seán Lemass June 19, 1945 February 18, 1948 Fianna Fáil
3. William Norton February 18, 1948 June 13, 1951 Labor Party
Seán Lemass June 13, 1951 June 2, 1954 Fianna Fáil
William Norton June 2, 1954 March 20, 1957 Labor Party
Seán Lemass March 20, 1957 June 23, 1959 Fianna Fáil
4th Seán MacEntee June 23, 1959 April 21, 1965 Fianna Fáil
5. Frank Aiken April 21, 1965 2nd July 1969 Fianna Fáil
6th Erskine Hamilton Childers 2nd July 1969 March 14, 1973 Fianna Fáil
7th Brendan Corish March 14, 1973 5th July 1977 Labor Party
8th. George Colley 5th July 1977 June 30, 1981 Fianna Fáil
9. Michael O'Leary June 30, 1981 March 9, 1982 Labor Party
10. Ray MacSharry March 9, 1982 December 14, 1982 Fianna Fáil
11. Dick Spring December 14, 1982 January 20, 1987 Labor Party
12. Peter Barry January 20, 1987 March 10, 1987 Fine Gael
13. Brian Lenihan Sr. March 10, 1987 October 31, 1990 Fianna Fáil
14th John P. Wilson November 13, 1990 January 12, 1993 Fianna Fáil
Dick Spring January 12, 1993 17th November 1994 Labor Party
15th Bertie Ahern November 19, 1994 December 15, 1994 Fianna Fáil
Dick Spring December 15, 1994 June 26, 1997 Labor Party
16. Mary Harney June 26, 1997 September 13, 2006 Progressive Democrats
17th Michael McDowell September 13, 2006 June 14, 2007 Progressive Democrats
18th Brian Cowen June 14, 2007 May 6, 2008 Fianna Fáil
19th Mary Coughlan May 7, 2008 March 11, 2011 Fianna Fáil
20th Eamon Gilmore March 11, 2011 4th July 2014 Labor Party
21st Joan Burton 4th July 2014 May 6, 2016 Labor Party
21st Frances Fitzgerald May 6, 2016 November 28, 2017 Fine Gael
22nd Simon Coveney November 30, 2017 June 27, 2020 Fine Gael
23. Leo Varadkar June 27, 2020 officiating Fine Gael