Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Irish heads of government since 1919
| Contents |
Republic of Ireland (and predecessor states)
The head of government, or prime minister, of the modern Republic of Ireland is known as the 'Taoiseach' and heads a cabinet called the Government. However, since 1919, heads of government in the southern state have bourne a number of titles. Under the short-lived Irish Republic of 1919-1922 the head of government was known first as the 'Príomh Aire' or 'President of Dáil Éireann' and later as the 'President of the Republic'. Under the 1922-1937 Irish Free State 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.
| Head of government | Deputy | Cabinet | State | Constitution | From | Until |
| Príomh Aire/President of Dáil Éireann President of the Republic | n/a | Ministry | Irish Republic | Constitution of Dáil Éireann | 1919 (Jan) 1921 (Aug) | 1921 (Aug) 1922 (Dec) |
| Chairman of the Provisional Government | n/a | Provisional Government | (Interim) | n/a | 1922 (Jan) | 1922 (Dec) |
| President of the Executive Council | Vice President | Executive Council | Irish Free State | Constitution of the Irish Free State | 1922 (Dec) | 1937 |
| Taoiseach | Tánaiste | Government | Éire/Republic of Ireland | Constitution of Ireland | 1937 | Present |
Northern Ireland
The most recent devolved cabinet in Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland Executive, established under the Belfast Agreement. The Executive has been in operation, intermittently, since 1999, but is currently in suspension. Since 1921, there have been three different prime ministerial offices in Northern Ireland.
| Office | Cabinet | From | Until |
| Prime Minister | Government | 1921 | 1971 |
| Chief Executive | Executive (Sunningdale) | 1973 | 1974 |
| First Minister | Executive | 1999 | Present |
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sir James Craig | June 7, 1921 | November 24, 1940 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| 2. | John Miller Andrews | November 25, 1940 | May 1, 1943 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| 3. | Sir Basil Brooke | May 1, 1943 | March 25, 1963 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| 4. | Terence O'Neill | March 25, 1963 | May 1, 1969 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| 5. | James Chichester-Clark | May 1, 1969 | March 23, 1971 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| 6. | Brian Faulkner | March 23, 1971 | March 30, 1972 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Brian Faulkner (2nd time) | 1973 | 1974 | Ulster Unionist Party | |
| 7. | David Trimble | 1999 | 2002 | Ulster Unionist Party |
Footnotes
- From January to August 1922 there were two administrations operating in parallel, the Provisional Government and the Ministry of the Irish Republic, and each cabinet had an overlapping membership. Thus, during this time, there were two heads of government, Arthur Griffith, as President of the Republic, and Michael Collins as Chairman of the Provisional Government. This anomalous situation came to an end when William T. Cosgrave became assumed both offices on the deaths of Griffith, on the 12 August 1922, and Collins, on 22 August, and merged the two competing administrations.
- When William 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.
See also
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details