Marian Harkin (born 26 November 1953) is an Irish

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician who has been 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 Parli ...

(TD) for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2002 to 2007. She previously served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from 2004 to 2019.

Early and family life

Harkin was born in

Ballintogher Ballintogher () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is located approximately 8 kilometers southeast of the county town of Sligo on the R290 road between Ballygawley to the west and Dromahair in County Leitrim to the north-east. Known ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, in 1953. She studied at

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 collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where she attained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in geology. She worked as a teacher of mathematics in a secondary school in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

for 23 years, before entering into politics.

Community activism

While living in

Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the Ir ...

, Harkin became active in the voluntary and community sector and developed the view that people living in disadvantaged areas such as

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

had to rely on their own initiative and energy to progress development of their region. Her work at local level led to her appointment to ''Developing the West Together'', which evolved into the ''Council for the West'', of which Harkin became chairperson.

Irish politics

She was 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 read ...

as an Independent TD for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency at the 2002 general election, receiving the highest number of first preference votes in the constituency.

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2019

At the 2004 European Parliament election, she was returned as an MEP for the North-West constituency topping the poll and being elected on the fourth count. She had previously contested the 1999 European Parliament election in the same constituency (then called Connacht–Ulster), but had narrowly failed to be elected, losing out to

Dana Rosemary Scallon Dana Rosemary Scallon (born Rosemary Brown; 30 August 1951), known professionally as Dana, is an Irish singer and former politician who served as Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. While still a schoolgirl she won the 1970 ...

for the third seat in the constituency. However, in 2004, the position was reversed and Harkin was returned at Scallon's expense. Harkin resigned from her Dáil seat at the 2007 general election to concentrate on her European seat. She was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE) in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, which comprises 85 MEPs from 19 member states. Harkin was a member of the European Parliament's

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for issues of employment and social policy, including labour rights, social security, inclusion, free movement for workers and pensio ...

and the delegation for relations with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She has been

European Democratic Party The European Democratic Party (EDP) (French: Parti Démocrate Européen; PDE) also known as the European Democrats, is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. François Bayrou is the President of the party. All ...

Vice-President since December 2012. In addition, she served as Vice-Chairwoman of the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime). She is also a supporter of the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that will help reduce the burden of

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

s (CVD). She was re-elected to the European Parliament at the 2009 European Parliament election topping the poll in her constituency. She was again re-elected at the 2014 European Parliament election, taking the fourth seat in the new Midlands-North-West constituency. On 1 April 2019, she announced that she was not standing for re-election in the 2019 European Parliament election, and the following January, she announced she was standing in 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 Ta ...

References

External links

Marian Harkin's page on the VoteWatch website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harkin, Marian 1953 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin 21st-century women MEPs for the Republic of Ireland Independent MEPs for Ireland Independent TDs Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2004–2009 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2009–2014 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2014–2019 Politicians from County Sligo European Democratic Party