Bertie Ahern
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern "was born into a working-class family in Dublin in 1951. He attended St. Aidan's CBS secondary school, the Rathmines College of Commerce and University College-Dublin.
"Ahern was elected to the Dáil (Parliament) in 1977 for the constituency of Dublin-Finglas and has represented Dublin Central since 1981. He served as a member of Dublin City Council 1978-88 and was Lord Mayor from 1986-1987. Returning to national government, he served as Minister for Labour, 1987-91, Minister for Finance, November 1991-94. Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, November-December 1994 and Minister for Industry and Commerce, January 1993. He also served as Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) from November-December 1994.
"Ahern became head of Fianna Fáil (political party) in 1994 and was leader of the opposition until 1997, when he succeeded John Bruton as prime minister. Heading a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat coalition. Ahern helped to negotiate a cease-fire by the Irish Republican Army, and in 1998 he helped broker the Good Friday Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland. He was re-elected Taoiseach on 6 June 2002, following a general election which saw his party Fianna Fáil returned to power in coalition with the Progressive Democrats." [1]
"On 14 June, 2007, following a general election which saw his party, Fianna Fáil, returned to power in coalition with the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats Mr Ahern was elected as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) for the third time. On the wider world stage during his Presidency of the European Council from January 2004 to June 2004 Bertie Ahern presided over the historic enlargement of the European Union to 27 member states including eight countries from Eastern Europe. He led Ireland to take leadership roles on key global issues such as increasing aid to developing countries and tackling the spread of HIV AIDS.
"Bertie Ahern's achievements as a leader at home and abroad have been recognised internationally. He has been conferred with honorary degrees by several universities and is one of only five people to enjoy the great distinction of having been invited to address both the Houses of Parliament at Westminster and the Houses of Congress of the United States in Washington D.C.Since leaving Government in 2008 Bertie Ahern had dedicated his time to Conflict Resolution and is actively involved with many groups around the world." [2]
- Member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
- Member of the International Group dealing with the Conflict in the Basque Country.
- Member of the Inter Action Council of former Presidents/Prime Ministers.
- Member of the Kennedy Institute of NUI Maynooth.
- Member of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin.
- Member of the Varkey Gems Foundation Advisory Board.
- Member of Crisis Management Initiative.
- Honorary Adjunct Professor of Mediation and Conflict Intervention in NUI Maynooth.
- World Economic Forum Agenda Council on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.
- Senior Advisor to the International Advisory Council to the Harvard International Negotiation Program.
- Director of Co-operation Ireland joint Board of British/Irish Government.
- Advisor to the Legislative Leadership Institute Academy of Foreign Affairs.
- Winner of the 2003 Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights
- Advisory Board, Iman Foundation[3]
Resources and articles
Related Sourcewatch articles
References
- ↑ Bertie Ahern, Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights, accessed April 7, 2009.
- ↑ Advisory Board, Iman Foundation, accessed August 28, 2015.
- ↑ Advisory Board, Iman Foundation, accessed August 28, 2015.
