Enda Kenny

Enda Kenny ( Irish: Eanna Ó Coinnigh ) ( born April 24, 1951 in Castlebar, County Mayo ) is an Irish Fine Gael politician and, since March 9, 2011 Prime Minister of Ireland.

Career

Kenny attended the St. Patrick's Teacher Training College in Drumcondra / Dublin and the National University in Galway City. In 1975 he was elected at a by-election in the constituency of West Mayo in the 20th Dáil Éireann and occupied the vacant seat while his late father Henry Kenny. In all subsequent elections, he was able to defend his position. During the 24th Dáil he held from 13 February 1986 until March 1987, the Office of Minister of State in the Ministry of Education. In December 1994, Kenny was appointed by Taoiseach John Bruton as Minister for Tourism and Trade and belonged to June 1997, the government.

As the Fine Gael suffered landslide losses in the 2002 elections to Dáil Éireann and lost 23 of the 54 deputies mandates, Kenny was elected in June of the same year as the successor to Michael Noonan as the new Chairman of the Fine Gael. As such, he succeeded in the election losses of 2002, the general election in May 2007, nearly equalize at which the Fine Gael now scored 51 mandates and in turn was clearly second-strongest force in parliament. After the election victory of his party in the general election in February 2011, Kenny was 9 March 2011 Taoiseach Brian Cowen and thus replaced by the Fianna Fáil from.

Besides his work in Parliament he was a member from 1975 to 1995 the Mayo County Council.

Personal

Kenny is married to Fionnuala O'Kelly since 1992 and the couple have three children together. He's in his spare time, a dedicated hikers and mountaineers. One of his mountaineering achievements includes the ascent of Kilimanjaro. In his youth he was still an active Gaelic football player and is still a member of the Fan Mayo Gaelic Football Club. The Fine Gael chairman also has a gift that is not self-evident for Irish politician Enda Kenny speaks the English language fluent Irish.

A special relationship has Kenny to Inis Oírr, the smallest of the three Aran Islands. An ancestor of his had on the island held the post of lighthouse keeper and Kenny likes to tell that it was there on the beach of Inis Oírr, where he made a proposal of marriage to his wife Fionnuala.