Martin, Micheál

Martin, Micheál, 1960–, Irish political leader. He briefly taught history before being elected (1985) to the Cork local government, and served (1992–93) as lord mayor of the city. A member of Fianna Fáil, Martin was first elected to the Irish parliament in 1989 and headed several ministries, including education (1997–2000), health (2000–2004), enterprise, trade, and employment (2004–8), and foreign affairs (2008–11). In 2011 he became party leader. After the 2020 elections, Martin became prime minister of a coalition government formed with Fine Gael and the Green party. It was the first time Ireland's two centrist parties had governed together.

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