The 26th government of Ireland (6 June 2002 – 14 June 2007) was the

government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

formed after the 2002 general election to the

29th Dáil The 29th Dáil was elected at the 2002 Irish general election, 2002 general election on 17 May 2002 and met on 6 June 2002. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Republic of Ireland, Irel ...

which had been held on 17 May 2002. It was led by

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 ...

leader

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

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 ...

, with

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...

leader

Mary Harney Mary Harney (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former politician and the former Chancellor of the University of Limerick. She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming the role afte ...

as Tánaiste. It was the first, and to date only,

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

to be returned to government after an election; both parties increased their number of seats, and together secured a Dáil majority, where in the previous government they had governed together as a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

dependent on the support of

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

TDs. It lasted for .

Nomination of Taoiseach

The

first met on 6 June 2002. In the debate on the nomination of Taoisech, outgoing Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

leader

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 (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

, Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn, and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

leader Trevor Sargent were each proposed. Ahern received the nomination of the Dáil. Ahern was re-appointed as Taoiseach by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

Government ministers

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Bertie Ahern proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day. ;Changes to departments

Attorney General

Rory Brady SC was appointed by the president as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Ministers of state

On 6 June 2002, the government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed Mary Hanafin to the post of Minister for State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

and Dick Roche, the position of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs, with special responsibility for European Affairs. On 18 June, the Taoiseach announced that the government had appointed with effect from 19 June the other 15 Ministers of State and that the government had also appointed Mary Hanafin to be Minister of State at the Department of Defence.

Dissolution

On 29 April 2007, the president dissolved the Dáil on the advice of the Taoiseach, and a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

was held on 24 May. The

30th Dáil The 30th Dáil was elected at the 2007 Irish general election, 2007 general election on 24 May 2007 and met on 14 June 2007. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Republic of Ireland, Ire ...

met on 14 June and Bertie Ahern was re-appointed as Taoiseach and formed a new government.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 29th Dail 2002 establishments in Ireland 2007 disestablishments in Ireland 29th Dáil Cabinets established in 2002 Cabinets disestablished in 2007 Coalition governments of Ireland Governments of Ireland