Mary White (born 7 October 1944) is an Irish businesswoman and former

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 Christian- ...

politician. She was a member of Seanad Éireann on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...

from September 2002, until April 2016 when she stood down. Born in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in 1944, she is married to Padraic White, and they have one daughter. She has an Arts degree in Economics and Politics from

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 ...

and a Higher Diploma in Architectural Technology from the Dublin Institute of Technology. White co-founded Lir Chocolates in 1987. She was first elected to the Seanad in 2002 and was re-elected in 2007 and in 2011. On 6 February 2008, White declared her candidacy to succeed Mary McAleese as

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

. She was seeking the nomination of the Fianna Fáil party and was the first candidate to declare her intention to run. In May 2011, she said that she would not be seeking a nomination. She stood down at the April 2016 election, having failed to be elected to the Dáil in the February 2016 general election. In the Seanad she was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation.

References

External links

Mary White's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Mary 1944 births Living people Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators Politicians from County Louth Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology