Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016,

Minister for Social Protection The Minister for Social Protection ( ga, An tAire Cosanta Sóisialta) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Social Protection. The current Minister for Social Protection is Heather Humphreys. She is als ...

from 2011 to 2016, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2014,

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. A Minister of Sta ...

from 1994 to 1997 and Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare from 1993 to 1994. She served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parl ...

(TD) for the

Dublin West Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

constituency from 1992 to 1997 and 2002 to 2020. Burton was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

at the 1992 general election. From 1995 to 1997, she was

. She lost her seat at the 1997 general election, but was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2002 general election. She was deputy leader of the Labour Party under

Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *" Éa ...

, between 2007 and 2014. She was

(Deputy Prime Minister) from 2014 to 2016 and

from 2011 to 2016. She resigned as Labour Party leader in May 2016, following heavy losses by the party in the 2016 general election. Burton lost her seat in the 2020 general election on the 5th count.

Early life

Burton is a native of the

Stoneybatter Stoneybatter, historically known as Bohernaglogh (), is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city between the River Liffey, the North Circular Road, Smithfield Market, and Grangegorman. It is in the D7 postal district. T ...

area of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. She was adopted by the Burton family as a baby and was brought up in

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchicore railway works ...

. Her adoptive father worked in the local iron foundry. She was educated at St. Gabriel's NS, Cowper Street and St. Joseph Sisters of Charity Secondary School, Stanhope Street and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD), where she graduated with a degree in commerce. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. She has worked as a lecturer in Accountancy in the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological U ...

and the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Political career

Early years: 1989–1997

Burton first stood for election at the 1989 general election, as one of two Labour Party candidates in the Dublin Central constituency; she failed to be elected. At the local elections in 1991, she was elected to

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

for the

Mulhuddart Mulhuddart () is an outer suburb situated 12 km (7.456 miles) north-west of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The River Tolka passes near the village. Mulhuddart is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Irelan ...

local electoral area. Burton was first elected to

at the 1992 general election as a Labour Party TD for the

constituency in the

27th Dáil 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

. She was appointed

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

at the Department of Social Welfare in the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

–Labour Party coalition that was formed after that election. With the breakdown of that coalition and the establishment of a Rainbow Coalition of

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil É ...

-Labour- Democratic Left in early 1995, she became

, a position she held until the coalition's defeat at the 1997 general election.

Loss of seat and re-election: 1997–2007

She lost her seat at the 1997 general election, to Joe Higgins of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

. Burton was re-elected to

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its aboli ...

in the 1999 local elections, on this occasion winning a seat in the

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

local electoral area. She was re-elected to the Dáil for Dublin West at the 2002 general election. She was then appointed Labour Party Spokesperson for Finance. She was a candidate for the deputy leadership of the party in 2002, obtaining 24% of the first preference vote, but was unsuccessful.

Labour Deputy Leadership: 2007–2014

Burton became deputy leader of the Labour Party in September 2007. She was re-elected to represent Dublin West at the 2011 general election, topping the poll on the 1st count with 9,627 votes, and was the first TD in the country to be elected to the

31st Dáil 31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number. In mathematics 31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...

Labour Leadership: 2014–2016

Labour polled badly at the 2014

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

and European elections; this led to the resignation of

as leader. Burton announced her candidacy for the leadership to replace him. On 4 July 2014, she won the

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

, defeating Alex White by 78% to 22%.

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition fro ...

, appointed her as

on the same day. Upon her election she said that the Labour Party "would focus on social repair, and govern more with the heart". She became the first woman to lead the Labour Party. On 11 July 2014, Burton announced the Labour Party cabinet ministers, with party deputy leader Alan Kelly appointed as Minister for the Environment, Alex White as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources,

Jan O'Sullivan Jan O'Sullivan (; born 6 December 1950) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2014 to 2016 and as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2014. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Lime ...

as Minister for Education and Skills and Gerald Nash as Minister of State for Business and Employment and

Brendan Howlin Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 1987. He previously served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expendit ...

remaining as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Burton also remained in her ministry at the Department of Social Protection. During her term as leader and Tánaiste, her contribution was key to preventing the sell-off of State assets, protecting core welfare payments and increasing the minimum wage twice. Despite a Millward Browne poll that predicted she would lose her constituency seat a month prior to the 2016 general election, Burton polled better than expected and retained her Dublin West seat. At the Women in Media conference that took place in April 2016, following elections and during negotiations to form a governing coalition, Burton discussed how women were excluded from the government negotiation process. She criticized what she called the misogyny and abuse female politicians faced during the election, and as well as the "vulgar, crude, and demeaning" '' Late Late Show'' broadcast during the election that offered

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

interpretations of politicians' body language. The Labour Party returned to opposition following the 2016 general election, in greatly reduced numbers. Burton remained as Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in an acting capacity during prolonged talks on government formation. On 6 May 2016, Enda Kenny announced in the Dáil that Frances Fitzgerald would be the new Tánaiste, while Burton's constituency colleague

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to D ...

took her old job in the Department of Social Protection. On 10 May 2016, she announced her resignation as Labour Party leader, which took effect on 20 May 2016, when her replacement

was chosen unopposed. She lost her seat at the

2020 Irish general election The 2020 Irish general election took place on Saturday 8 February, to elect the 33rd Dáil, the lower house of Ireland's parliament. The election was called following the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil by the president, at the request of the ...

, with her first preference vote declining from 15.4% to 4.8%.

References

External links

*
Joan Burton's page on the Labour Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Joan 1949 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Councillors of Dublin County Council Women government ministers of the Republic of Ireland Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Leaders of the Labour Party (Ireland) Local councillors in Fingal Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Ministers for Social Affairs (Ireland) Ministers of State of the 27th Dáil Politicians from Fingal Tánaistí Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála