Portal:Ireland/Selected biography archive/15





Patrick Alan Bartholomew Ahern AKA (Bertie) (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish politician who has been the tenth Taoiseach of Ireland since 26 June 1997. He is head of a rainbow coalition government led by his Fianna Fáil party that includes the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, with the support of independent TDs.

Ahern has been a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1977 and he represents the constituency of Dublin Central. He served in the governments of Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds as Minister for Labour (1987–1991) and Minister for Finance (1991–1994). He also served briefly as Tánaiste after the break-up of Albert Reynolds' coalition government. In 1994 he was elected sixth leader of Fianna Fáil.

Ahern is currently involved in an enquiry into large payments made to him in the mid-1990s. This issue has seen him called before the Mahon Tribunal. As a result, in an address delivered to the media outside government buildings on the 2 April 2008, while highlighting the successes of his leadership, he announced his intention to resign the office of Taoiseach (and as leader of Fianna Fáil) on 6 May 2008. Read more...