Irish cabinets since 1919

Ireland (and predecessor states)

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The executive branch of the modern state of Ireland is titled the Government of Ireland. It has had this title since the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland in 1937. The Ministry of Dáil Éireann was the cabinet of the unrecognised Irish Republic, which operated from 1919 to 1922. This overlapped with the Provisional Government which was put in place after the approval of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in January 1922. Both these cabinets ceased to operate from December 1922, on the coming into being of the Irish Free State. From 1922 to 1937, the cabinet was known as the Executive Council of the Irish Free State.

Types of government since 1919

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Cabinet State Head Deputy Constitution Date
Ministry Irish Republic President of Dáil Éireann[a] N/A Dáil Constitution 21 January 1919 – 6 December 1922
Provisional Government Southern Ireland Chairman N/A Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 3 May 1921 – 6 December 1922
Executive Council Irish Free State President Vice-President Constitution of the Irish Free State 6 December 1922 – 29 December 1937
Government Ireland Taoiseach Tánaiste Constitution of Ireland Since 29 December 1937

Cabinets since 1919

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State Dáil Election Formation Cabinet Composition Head Deputy
Irish Republic 1st 1918 22 January 1919 1st ministry SF Cathal Brugha N/A
1 April 1919 2nd ministry Éamon de Valera Arthur Griffith[b]
2nd 1921 26 August 1921 3rd ministry SF Éamon de Valera N/A
10 January 1922 4th ministry[c] SF (PT) Arthur Griffith N/A
Southern Ireland 16 January 1922 1st provisional government[c] Michael Collins[d] N/A
3rd 1922 30 August 1922 2nd provisional government[e] SF (PT) (minority) W. T. Cosgrave N/A
Irish Free State 6 December 1922 1st executive council Kevin O'Higgins
4th 1923 19 September 1923 2nd executive council CnG (minority) W. T. Cosgrave Kevin O'Higgins
5th June 1927 23 June 1927 3rd executive council CnG (minority) W. T. Cosgrave Kevin O'Higgins
Ernest Blythe
6th Sept. 1927 11 October 1927 4th executive council CnG (minority) W. T. Cosgrave Ernest Blythe
2 April 1930 5th executive council
7th 1932 9 March 1932 6th executive council FF (minority) Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
8th 1933 8 February 1933 7th executive council FF (minority) Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
9th 1937 21 July 1937 8th executive council FF (minority) Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
Ireland 29 December 1937[f] 1st government
10th 1938 30 June 1938 2nd government FF Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
11th 1943 1 July 1943 3rd government FF (minority) Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
12th 1944 9 June 1944 4th government FF Éamon de Valera Seán T. O'Kelly
Seán Lemass[g]
13th 1948 18 February 1948 5th government FGLabCnPCnTNLInd John A. Costello William Norton
14th 1951 13 June 1951 6th government FF (minority) Éamon de Valera Seán Lemass
15th 1954 2 June 1954 7th government FGLabCnT John A. Costello William Norton
16th 1957 20 March 1957 8th government FF Éamon de Valera Seán Lemass
23 June 1959 9th government Seán Lemass Seán MacEntee
17th 1961 11 October 1961 10th government FF (minority) Seán Lemass Seán MacEntee
18th 1965 21 April 1965 11th government FF Seán Lemass Frank Aiken
10 November 1966 12th government Jack Lynch
19th 1969 2 July 1969 13th government FF Jack Lynch Erskine H. Childers
20th 1973 14 March 1973 14th government FGLab Liam Cosgrave Brendan Corish
21st 1977 5 July 1977 15th government FF Jack Lynch George Colley
11 December 1979 16th government Charles Haughey
22nd 1981 30 June 1981 17th government FGLab (minority) Garret FitzGerald Michael O'Leary
23rd Feb. 1982 9 March 1982 18th government FF (minority) Charles Haughey Ray MacSharry
24th Nov. 1982 14 December 1982 19th government FGLab
FG (minority) from Jan. 1987
Garret FitzGerald Dick Spring
Peter Barry[h]
25th 1987 10 March 1987 20th government FF (minority) Charles Haughey Brian Lenihan
26th 1989 12 July 1989 21st government FFPD Charles Haughey Brian Lenihan
John Wilson[i]
11 February 1992 22nd government Albert Reynolds John Wilson
27th 1992 12 January 1993 23rd government FFLab
FF (minority) from Nov. 1994
Albert Reynolds Dick Spring
Bertie Ahern[j]
15 December 1994 24th government FGLabDL John Bruton Dick Spring
28th 1997 26 June 1997 25th government FFPD (minority) Bertie Ahern Mary Harney
29th 2002 6 June 2002 26th government FFPD Bertie Ahern Mary Harney
Michael McDowell[k]
30th 2007 14 June 2007 27th government FFGrPD Bertie Ahern Brian Cowen
7 May 2008 28th government FFGrPD
FFGrInd from Nov. 2009
FF (minority) from Jan. 2011
Brian Cowen Mary Coughlan
31st 2011 9 March 2011 29th government FGLab Enda Kenny Eamon Gilmore
Joan Burton[l]
32nd 2016 6 May 2016 30th government FGInd (minority) Enda Kenny Frances Fitzgerald
14 June 2017 31st government Leo Varadkar Frances Fitzgerald
Simon Coveney[m]
33rd 2020 26 June 2020 32nd government FFFGGr Micheál Martin Leo Varadkar
17 December 2022 33rd government FGFFGr Leo Varadkar Micheál Martin
9 April 2024 34th government FGFFGr Simon Harris Micheál Martin
Footnotes
  1. ^ Éamon de Valera used the title President of the Republic from August 1921 to January 1922.
  2. ^ On 17 June 1919 Griffith was appointed Deputy President.[1]
  3. ^ a b The 4th Ministry and 1st Provisional Government held office simultaneously.
  4. ^ Collins was killed on 22 August 1922. Cosgrave was appointed as Chairman of the Provisional Government on 25 August 1922.
  5. ^ The 5th Dáil Ministry was formed on 9 September 1922 with the same composition as the Second Provisional Government
  6. ^ The 8th executive Council became the 1st government of Ireland on the coming into operation of the Constitution of Ireland.
  7. ^ On 19 June 1945 Lemass was appointed as Tánaiste after the election of O'Kelly as President of Ireland.
  8. ^ On 20 January 1987 Spring and the other Labour ministers resigned from government and Barry was appointed as Tánaiste.
  9. ^ On 31 October 1990 Lenihan was dismissed as Tánaiste and on 13 November 1990 Wilson was appointed.
  10. ^ On 18 November 1994 Spring and the other Labour ministers resigned from government and Ahern was appointed as Tánaiste.
  11. ^ On 13 September 2006 Harney resigned as Tánaiste and McDowell was appointed in her place.
  12. ^ On 11 July 2014 Gilmore resigned as Tánaiste and Burton was appointed in his place.
  13. ^ On 30 November 2017 Fitzgerald resigned as Tánaiste and Coveney was appointed in her place.

Northern Ireland

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The current devolved branch of Northern Ireland is known as the Northern Ireland Executive, established under the Good Friday Agreement. The Executive has been in operation, intermittently, since 1999, and is current operational. Since 1921, Northern Ireland has been governed by two other devolved cabinets: Executive Committee of the Privy Council from 1921 to 1972 and the Northern Ireland Executive of 1974. Northern Ireland has also been governed by direct rule from 1972 to 1974, 1974–98 and 2002–07.

Types of government since 1921

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Cabinet Head Deputy Act Date
Executive Committee of
the Privy Council
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Minister of Finance[a] Government of Ireland Act 1920 7 June 1921 – 30 March 1972
Executive (1974) Chief Executive Deputy Chief Executive Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 1 January 1974 – 28 May 1974
Executive First Minister Deputy First Minister Northern Ireland Act 1998 1 July 1998 – 14 October 2002
8 May 2007 – present

Direct rule

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Cabinets since 1921

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Body Election/Formed Cabinet Head Deputy Parties
1st House of Commons 1921 election Craigavon ministry James Craig Hugh MacDowell Pollock Ulster Unionist Party
2nd House of Commons 1925 election James Craig Hugh MacDowell Pollock Ulster Unionist Party
3rd House of Commons 1929 election James Craig Hugh MacDowell Pollock Ulster Unionist Party
4th House of Commons 1933 election James Craig Hugh MacDowell Pollock Ulster Unionist Party
John Miller Andrews
5th House of Commons 1938 election James Craig John Miller Andrews Ulster Unionist Party
1940 Andrews ministry John Miller Andrews None Ulster Unionist Party
John Milne Barbour
1943 Brookeborough ministry Basil Brooke John Maynard Sinclair Ulster Unionist Party
6th House of Commons 1945 election Basil Brooke John Maynard Sinclair Ulster Unionist Party
7th House of Commons 1949 election Basil Brooke John Maynard Sinclair Ulster Unionist Party
None
Brian Maginess
8th House of Commons 1953 election Basil Brooke Brian Maginess Ulster Unionist Party
George Boyle Hanna
Terence O'Neill
9th House of Commons 1958 election Basil Brooke Terence O'Neill Ulster Unionist Party
10th House of Commons 1962 election Basil Brooke Terence O'Neill Ulster Unionist Party
1963 O'Neill ministry Terence O'Neill Jack Andrews Ulster Unionist Party
Ivan Neill
Herbert Kirk
11th House of Commons 1965 election Terence O'Neill Herbert Kirk Ulster Unionist Party
12th House of Commons 1969 election Terence O'Neill Herbert Kirk Ulster Unionist Party
1969 (May) Chichester-Clark ministry James Chichester-Clark Jack Andrews Ulster Unionist Party
1971 Faulkner ministry Brian Faulkner Jack Andrews Ulster Unionist Party
1972 Direct rule Secretary of State William Whitelaw Conservative Party
1973 Assembly 1973 election Secretary of State William Whitelaw Conservative Party
1973 (Dec) Secretary of State Francis Pym Conservative Party
1974 (Jan) Executive (1974) Brian Faulkner Gerry Fitt Ulster Unionist Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
1974 (May) Direct rule Secretary of State Merlyn Rees Labour Party
Constitutional Convention 1975 election Secretary of State Merlyn Rees Labour Party
1976 Secretary of State Roy Mason Labour Party
1979 Secretary of State Humphrey Atkins Conservative Party
1981 Secretary of State James Prior Conservative Party
1982 Assembly 1982 election Secretary of State James Prior Conservative Party
1984 Secretary of State Douglas Hurd Conservative Party
1985 Secretary of State Tom King Conservative Party
1989 Secretary of State Peter Brooke Conservative Party
1992 Secretary of State Patrick Mayhew Conservative Party
Forum 1996 election Secretary of State Patrick Mayhew Conservative Party
1997 Secretary of State Mo Mowlam Labour Party
1st Assembly 1998 election 1st Executive David Trimble Seamus Mallon Ulster Unionist Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Mark Durkan Democratic Unionist Party
Sinn Féin
2nd Assembly 2003 election Direct rule Secretary of State John Reid Labour Party
2002 Secretary of State Paul Murphy Labour Party
2005 Secretary of State Peter Hain Labour Party
3rd Assembly 2007 election 2nd Executive Ian Paisley Martin McGuinness Democratic Unionist Party
Sinn Féin
Peter Robinson Ulster Unionist Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
4th Assembly 2011 election 3rd Executive Peter Robinson Martin McGuinness Democratic Unionist Party
Sinn Féin
Ulster Unionist Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
5th Assembly 2016 election 4th Executive Arlene Foster Martin McGuinness Democratic Unionist Party
Sinn Féin
6th Assembly 2017 election[b] 5th Executive Arlene Foster Michelle O'Neill Democratic Unionist Party
Sinn Féin
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Ulster Unionist Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
7th Assembly 2022 election[c] 6th Executive Michelle O'Neill Emma Little-Pengelly Sinn Féin
Democratic Unionist Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Ulster Unionist Party
Footnotes
  1. ^ From 3 May 1969, a separate and distinct office of Deputy Prime Minister was created.
  2. ^ Although the 6th Assembly was elected in 2017, the Executive itself was not appointed until 2020, with no Executive existing between 16 January 2017 and 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ Although the 7th Assembly was elected in 2022, the Executive itself was not appointed until 2024, with no Executive existing between 4 February 2022 and 3 February 2024.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY PRESIDENT – Dáil Éireann (1st Dáil) – Tuesday, 17 June 1919". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
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