The 2011 Fianna Fáil leadership election was called by party leader

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...

on 22 January 2011, when he announced that he was resigning as president and leader of the party. He remained as

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

until after the 2011 general election. The deadline for nominations closed at 1 p.m. on 24 January, and the new leader was elected at a special

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

parliamentary party meeting on 26 January.

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

was elected as the party's eighth leader.

Candidates

Standing

* Mary Hanafin – Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation *

Brian Lenihan Jnr Brian Joseph Lenihan (21 May 1959 – 10 June 2011) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from March 2011 to June 2011, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law ...

– Minister for Finance *

– Former Minister for Foreign Affairs *

Éamon Ó Cuív Éamon Ó Cuív (; born 23 June 1950) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1992 to 2024. He previously served as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2012, a ...

–

Minister for Social Protection The Minister for Social Protection () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Social Protection. The Minister for Social Protection is Dara Calleary. He is also Minister for Rural and Community Developm ...

, Minister for Defence and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Declined to stand

* Conor Lenihan – Minister of State for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources

Results

Only TDs who were members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party were eligible to vote.

Jimmy Devins James Devins (born 20 September 1948) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State in various government departments from 2007 to 2009. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2011. Devins is a medical d ...

rejoined the parliamentary party on 25 January, a day before the leadership election, bringing the total number of eligible voters to 72.

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs (), also known simply as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster (RTÉ). Its services include local, national, European and international news, investigative ...

reported that Martin had received 33 first preference votes, compared to Ó Cuív's 15, Lenihan's 14 and Hanafin's 10; it added that the election ended on the third count, with Ó Cuív the runner-up. When Hanafin had been eliminated and her votes redistributed, Ó Cuív and Lenihan were equal on 18 votes each; Lenihan was then eliminated, having received fewer first preferences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fianna Fail Leadership Election, 2011 2011 elections in the Republic of Ireland 2011 in Irish politics Fianna Fáil leadership election Fianna Fáil leadership elections History of Fianna Fáil Indirect elections Micheál Martin