Enda Kenny

Enda Kenny (born April 24, 1951, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland) is an Irish politician who served as leader of Fine Gael (2002–17) and as taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland (2011–17).

Kenny attended the National University of Ireland, Galway, and spent four years working as a teacher. He turned to politics in 1975 upon the death of his father, Henry Kenny, a long-serving member of the Dáil Éireann (Ireland’s lower legislative house), representing Mayo. Kenny won a comfortable victory in a special election to fill his father’s seat, and at age 24 he was the youngest member of the Dáil. He spent much of his early political career on the backbench, focusing on local issues. In 1994 he was appointed minister of tourism and trade in the “rainbow coalition” government of Fine Gael Taoiseach John Bruton.

With the collapse of Bruton’s coalition in 1997, Kenny lost his portfolio, but his stature rose as the party itself declined. Weeks after the 2002 election, which saw Fine Gael win just 31 seats, Kenny was elected party leader. He immediately set to restoring the party’s fortunes, and Fine Gael made an impressive showing in the 2007 election, capturing 51 seats.

Fine Gael’s momentum continued to build as Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Brian Cowen, beset with a banking crisis and a soaring national deficit, was obliged to accept a bailout package of more than $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The Green Party withdrew from Cowen’s coalition, and the government collapsed, forcing early elections in February 2011. Capitalizing on widespread voter dissatisfaction, Fine Gael won more than 70 seats, ending 14 years of Fianna Fáil rule, and Kenny began discussions with the Labour Party about the formation of a coalition government. After more than a week of negotiations, the details of the coalition were settled, and Kenny was formally elected taoiseach by the Dáil on March 9, 2011, by an unprecedented 90 votes.

Kenny oversaw a strong rebound by the Irish economy over the next five years, but the perception by many that the recovery had not been shared equally was reflected in the general election results of February 2016, when the electorate punished the ruling coalition by ending its majority. In particular, voters appeared to be disenchanted by the government’s pledge to end the universal social charge—a graduated tax on all income over €13,000—despite austerity-mandated cuts to social services. In the event, Fine Gael remained the largest party in the Dáil, but its share of the seats fell from the 76 it ultimately had secured in 2011 to 50, while coalition partner Labour plummeted from 37 seats to 7. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael’s traditional rival for power, which had appeared politically moribund after the last general election, bounced back forcefully to add 24 seats to its 2011 count, reaching a total of 44 deputies.

With no party holding a majority and no quick path to coalition rule evident, a hung parliament ensued. Ten weeks of negotiations followed as Kenny sought to form a government. Even the unheard-of possibility of grand coalition rule with Fianna Fáil was on the table. Finally, in early May, after much policy-related horse trading, an agreement was reached whereby Kenny and Fine Gael would continue to lead the government, supported by independent deputies and with a promise by Fianna Fáil that it would abstain on key votes until 2018. With Fianna Fáil abstaining, Kenny captured 59 votes on May 6, 2016, enough to return to power. In the process, he became the first Fine Gael taoiseach to be reelected.

A scandal involving the public smearing of a police whistleblower nearly toppled the government in February 2017, and Kenny narrowly survived a vote of confidence, 57 to 52, with Fianna Fáil abstaining. Under pressure from the opposition as well as from members of his own party, Kenny stood down as Fine Gael leader in May 2017. The following month the party chose Kenny’s minister for social protection, Leo Varadkar, to succeed him as leader of Fine Gael. Kenny resigned as prime minister on June 13, 2017, and Varadkar was elected prime minister the following day. Kenny continued to serve in the Dáil until 2020, when he stepped down after opting not to seek another term.