President of Ireland
The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann OOk-te-rawn na HAir-un ) is the head of state of Ireland. It is mostly ceremonial and elections are held every seven years, a person can be elected for up to two terms. The current President of Ireland is Michael D. Higgins.
| President of of Ireland | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Style | President (Uachtarán) or Your Excellency (A Shoilse) |
| Residence | Áras an Uachtaráin |
| Term length | Seven years, renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | Douglas Hyde |
| Formation | 25 June 1938 |
| Salary | €250,000 per annum [1] |
| Website | www |
Duties
- Appoints the government: The President formally appoints the Taoiseach (head of government) and other ministers, and accepts their resignations.
- Signs bills into law: The President cannot veto a bill that the Dáil and the Seanad have adopted.
- Power of pardon: The President, on the advice of the Government, has "the right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment".[2]
- The President is ex officio President of the Irish Red Cross Society.[3]
- The President appoints, on the advice of the Government, the Senior Professors and chairman of the council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies;[4]
List of presidents of Ireland
The functions of the President were exercised by the Presidential Commission from the coming into force of the Constitution on 29 December 1937 until the election of Douglas Hyde in 1938, and during the vacancies of 1974, 1976, and 1997.
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Previous service | Term of office | Nominated by | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas Hyde (1860–1949) |
|
Senator (1925, 1938) |
25 June 1938 | 24 June 1945 | All-party nomination | 1938 |
| 2 | Séan T. O'Kelly (1882–1966) |
|
Tánaiste (1932–1945) |
25 June 1945 | 24 June 1959 | Fianna Fáil | 1945 |
| Himself[n 1] | 1952 | ||||||
| 3 | Éamon de Valera (1882–1975) |
|
Taoiseach (1932–1948, 1951–1954, 1957–1959) |
25 June 1959 | 24 June 1973 | Fianna Fáil | 1959 |
| Fianna Fáil[n 2] | 1966 | ||||||
| 4 | Erskine H. Childers (1905–1974) |
Tánaiste (1969–1973) |
25 June 1973 | 17 November 1974 | Fianna Fáil | 1973 | |
| 5 | Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh[5] (1911–1978) |
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|
Chief Justice of Ireland (1961–1973) |
19 December 1974 | 22 October 1976 | All-party nomination | 1974 |
| 6 | Patrick Hillery (1923–2008) |
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|
European Commissioner for Social Affairs (1973–1976) |
3 December 1976 | 2 December 1990 | Fianna Fáil | 1976 |
| Fianna Fáil | 1983 | ||||||
| 7 | Mary Robinson (1944–) |
|
Senator (1969–1989) |
3 December 1990 | 12 September 1997 | Labour Party | 1990 |
| Workers' Party | |||||||
| Independent | |||||||
| 8 | Mary McAleese (1951–) |
|
Reid Professor of Criminal law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College, Dublin |
11 November 1997 | 10 November 2011 | Fianna Fáil | 1997 |
| Herself | 2004 | ||||||
| 9 | Michael D. Higgins (1941–) |
|
Minister for Arts, Culture and Gaeltacht (1993–1997) |
11 November 2011 | Incumbent | Labour Party | 2011 |
President Of Ireland Media
Áras an Uachtaráin is the official residence of the president.
The president's wreath (in green) laid at Ireland's Remembrance Day ceremonies in St. Patrick's Cathedral in 2005. Presidents have attended the ceremony since the 1990s.
Notes
- ↑ In 1952 Seán T. O'Kelly re-nominated himself, as was his right under the Constitution. This allowed him a free run, as he was not the nominee of a specific party, and the other parties could let him be re-elected unopposed without loss of face.
- ↑ Unlike Seán T. O'Kelly in 1952, De Valera was renominated in 1966 by Fianna Fáil. As a result, Fine Gael felt honour bound to nominate a candidate, albeit low key. In the event their candidate, Tom O'Higgins, came within 1% (or 10,000 votes) of winning.
References
- ↑ "Higher or lower: how does Michael D's new salary compare to other heads of state?". TheJournal.ie. 10 November 2011. http://www.thejournal.ie/higher-or-lower-how-does-michael-ds-new-salary-compare-to-other-heads-of-state-266916-Oct2011/.
- ↑ Constitution of Ireland: Article 13.6
- ↑ Red Cross Act, 1944 Irish Statute Book
- ↑ "Institute For Advanced Studies Act, 1940". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
- ↑ His name is sometimes given in the alternative spelling of Carroll O'Daly. Harris M. Lentz, Heads of States and Governments Since 1945 (2014, ISBN 1134264909), p. 421
