tnaiste

The Tnaiste (plural: Tnaistithe), or more formally An Tnaiste, is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland¹. The Tnaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of the Taoiseach (prime minister). The word was historically an Irish word for the heir of a Celtic chieftain (see tanistry). The Tnaiste acts in the place of the Taoiseach during his or her temporary absence, and, until a successor has been appointed, in the event of the Taoiseach's death or permanent incapacitation. The Tnaiste must be a minister, and is ex-officio a member of the Council of State. The title is in practice largely honorific. Under a coalition Government the position is commonly held by the leader of the second-largest party. In a single-party government, the Tnaiste is often an 'elder statesman' holding one of the less important ministerial portfolios. The office was created in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, replacing the previous office of Vice-President of the Executive Council that had existed under the Constitution of the Irish Free State.

List of Tnaistithe

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1.	Sen T. O'Kelly	December 29, 1937	June 14, 1945	Fianna Fil
2.	Sean Lemass	June 19, 1945	February 18, 1948	Fianna Fil
3.	William Norton	February 18, 1948	June 13, 1951	Labour
	Sean Lemass (2nd time)	June 13, 1951	June 2, 1954	Fianna Fil
	William Norton (2nd time)	June 2, 1954	March 20, 1957	Labour
	Sean Lemass (3rd time)	March 20, 1957	June 23, 1959	Fianna Fil
4.	Sen MacEntee	June 23, 1959	April 21, 1965	Fianna Fil
5.	Frank Aiken	April 21, 1965	July 2, 1969	Fianna Fil
6.	Erskine Childers	July 2, 1969	March 14, 1973	Fianna Fil
7.	Brendan Corish	March 14, 1973	July 5, 1977	Labour
8.	George Colley	July 5, 1977	June 30, 1981	Fianna Fil
9.	Michael O'Leary	June 30, 1981	March 9, 1982	Labour
10.	Ray MacSharry	March 9, 1982	December 14, 1982	Fianna Fil
11.	Dick Spring (1st time)	December 14, 1982	January 20, 1987	Labour
12.	Peter Barry	January 20, 1987	March 10, 1987	Fine Gael
13.	Brian Lenihan	March 10, 1987	October 31, 1990	Fianna Fil
14.	John P. Wilson	November 13, 1990	January 12, 1993	Fianna Fil
	Dick Spring (2nd time)	January 12, 1993	November 17, 1994	Labour
15.	Bertie Ahern	November 19, 1994	December 15, 1994	Fianna Fil
	Dick Spring (3rd time)	December 15, 1994	June 26, 1997	Labour
16.	Mary Harney	June 26, 1997	(Current incumbent)	Progressive Democrats

Footnotes

1. Tnaiste is Irish. It may be pronounced "taw-nish-ta".

Tnaiste

List of Tnaistithe

Footnotes

See also