Mary White (born 24 November 1948) is a former Irish

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

politician who served as a

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. In o ...

from 2010 to 2011 and Deputy Leader of the Green Party from 2001 to 2011. 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 Parli ...

(TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 2007 to 2011.

Early and personal life

White was born in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, educated at the Ursuline

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. At Trinity, she was a founding member of the English Society and received a ''Pink'' (award) for sporting excellence. She is married to Robert White and has one daughter. They have lived in Borris,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

since 1987. She has co-edited a book on walking in the

Blackstairs Mountains The Blackstairs Mountains ( ga, Na Staighrí Dubha) run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland. The highest peak is Mount Leinster with a total height of 2612 ft/ 796 metres. See also *List o ...

with Joss Lynam and authored another, ''Environment, Mining and Politics''. She is also a keen hill-walker,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and organic grower.

Political career

She was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1997 general election and 2002 general election, but was elected to

Carlow County Council Carlow County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Cheatharlach) is the authority responsible for local government in County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

at the 1999 local elections. She topped the poll in the Borris local electoral area, and was re-elected at the 2004 local elections, serving until 2007. She also ran for

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

in 2002 but only received 35 votes. In 2004, she was the Green Party candidate at the

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

for the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

constituency, seeking to succeed outgoing Green MEP

Nuala Ahern Nuala Ahern (; born 5 February 1949 in Omeath, County Louth) is a former Irish Green Party member of the European Parliament representing Leinster in Ireland from 1994–2004. Ahern became active in politics in 1991 becoming elected to Wicklow ...

. She secured 5.6% of the first preference vote but was not elected. 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 ...

at the 2007 general election, making her the first female TD elected for the Green party and for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency. On 23 March 2010, as part of a reshuffle, she was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Law Reform, at the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills, with special responsibility for Equality, Human Rights and Integration. She resigned as Minister of State on 23 January 2011, when the Green Party withdrew from government. She lost her seat at the 2011 general election. She was subsequently replaced as Deputy Leader of the Green Party by Catherine Martin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Mary 1948 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Green Party (Ireland) TDs Local councillors in County Carlow Members of the 30th Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers of State of the 30th Dáil Politicians from County Wicklow Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland