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The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Irish: Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha) is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Ireland. Its headquarters are at Iveagh House, on St. Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole.

The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Micheál Martin, TD. He is assisted by two Ministers of State:

Peter Power, TD – Minister of State for Overseas Development
Dick Roche, TD – Minister of State for European Affairs

The Minister is one of the most important members of the Irish cabinet, with responsibility for the relations between Ireland and foreign states. From 1922 until 1971 the title of the office was "Minister for External Affairs".

[edit] Overview

Iveagh House, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland

Within the department there are a number of divisions:

Finance Unit – oversees the financial control of the department.
Anglo-Irish Division – deals with Anglo-Irish relations and Northern Ireland.
Cultural Division – administers the state's Cultural Relations Programme.
European Union Division – coordinates the state's approach within the European Union (EU).
Passport and Consular Division – is responsible for the issuing of passports to Irish citizens.
Political Division – is responsible for international political issues and manages the state's participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Protocol Division – is responsible for the organisation and management of visits of VIPs to the state and of visits abroad by the President of Ireland.

[edit] List of office-holders

No.		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
[edit] Minister for Foreign Affairs 1919–1922
	1.	Count Plunkett	22 January 1919	26 August 1921	Sinn Féin
	2.	Arthur Griffith^[1] (1st time)	26 August 1921	9 January 1922	Sinn Féin
	3.	George Gavan Duffy	10 January 1922	25 July 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
		Arthur Griffith (2nd time)	26 July 1922	12 August 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
	4.	Michael Hayes	21 August 1922	9 September 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
[edit] Minister for External Affairs 1922–1971
No.		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	5.	Desmond FitzGerald	30 August 1922	23 June 1927	Cumann na nGaedhael
	6.	Kevin O'Higgins	23 June 1927	10 July 1927	Cumann na nGaedhael
	7.	W. T. Cosgrave (acting)	10 July 1927	11 October 1927	Cumann na nGaedhael
	8.	Patrick McGilligan	11 October 1927	9 March 1932	Cumann na nGaedhael
	9.	Éamon de Valera^[2]	9 March 1932	18 February 1948	Fianna Fáil
	10.	Seán MacBride	18 February 1948	13 June 1951	Clann na Poblachta
	11.	Frank Aiken (1st time)	13 June 1951	2 June 1954	Fianna Fáil
	12.	Liam Cosgrave	2 June 1954	20 March 1957	Fine Gael
		Frank Aiken (2nd time)	20 March 1957	2 July 1969	Fianna Fáil
	13.	Patrick Hillery	2 July 1969	3 March 1971	Fianna Fáil
[edit] Minister for Foreign Affairs 1971–present
No.		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Patrick Hillery	3 March 1971	3 January 1973	Fianna Fáil
	14.	Brian Lenihan (1st time)	3 January 1973	14 March 1973	Fianna Fáil
	15.	Garret FitzGerald	14 March 1973	5 July 1977	Fine Gael
	16.	Michael O'Kennedy	5 July 1977	11 December 1979	Fianna Fáil
		Brian Lenihan (2nd time)	12 December 1979	30 June 1981	Fianna Fáil
	17.	John Kelly^[3]	30 June 1981	21 October 1981	Fine Gael
	18.	James Dooge	21 October 1981	9 March 1982	Fine Gael
	19.	Gerry Collins (1st time)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982	Fianna Fáil
	20.	Peter Barry^[4]	14 December 1982	10 March 1987	Fine Gael
		Brian Lenihan (3rd time)	10 March 1987	12 July 1989	Fianna Fáil
		Gerry Collins (2nd time)	12 July 1989	11 February 1992	Fianna Fáil
	21.	David Andrews (1st time)	11 February 1992	12 January 1993	Fianna Fáil
	22.	Dick Spring (1st time)	12 January 1993	17 November 1994	Labour Party
	23.	Albert Reynolds (acting)	18 November 1994	15 December 1994	Fianna Fáil
		Dick Spring (2nd time)	15 December 1994	26 June 1997	Labour Party
	24.	Ray Burke	26 June 1997	7 October 1997	Fianna Fáil
		David Andrews (2nd time)	8 October 1997	27 January 2000	Fianna Fáil
	25.	Brian Cowen	27 January 2000	29 September 2004	Fianna Fáil
	26.	Dermot Ahern	29 September 2004	7 May 2008	Fianna Fáil
	27.	Micheál Martin	7 May 2008	Incumbent	Fianna Fáil

[edit] Footnotes

^ On the first occasion he held the foreign affairs portfolio, Arthur Griffith's official title was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
^ Éamon de Valera, who was head of government (President of the Executive Council until 1937, renamed Taoiseach in 1937) served as his own foreign minister.
^ When Garret FitzGerald formed a government in mid 1981 he announced that he would be appointing James Dooge to be a senator and once in office would make him minister. However as the appointment could not be made until Seanad Éireann's general election had taken place (which would be a few weeks), in the interim the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, John Kelly, would act as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
^ When the Labour Party withdrew from cabinet in early 1987, a new interim cabinet, made up simply of the outgoing Fine Gael ministers, was formed. Peter Barry continued on as Foreign Minister in that short-lived Fine Gael cabinet.

[edit] See also

Irish cabinets since 1919

[edit] External links

Department of Foreign Affairs

[0] On the first occasion he held the foreign affairs portfolio, Arthur Griffith's official title was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

[1] Éamon de Valera, who was head of government (President of the Executive Council until 1937, renamed Taoiseach in 1937) served as his own foreign minister.

[2] When Garret FitzGerald formed a government in mid 1981 he announced that he would be appointing James Dooge to be a senator and once in office would make him minister. However as the appointment could not be made until Seanad Éireann's general election had taken place (which would be a few weeks), in the interim the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, John Kelly, would act as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

[3] When the Labour Party withdrew from cabinet in early 1987, a new interim cabinet, made up simply of the outgoing Fine Gael ministers, was formed. Peter Barry continued on as Foreign Minister in that short-lived Fine Gael cabinet.

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Contents

[edit] Overview

[edit] List of office-holders

[edit] Minister for Foreign Affairs 1919–1922

[edit] Minister for External Affairs 1922–1971

[edit] Minister for Foreign Affairs 1971–present

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links