Mary McAleese

Presidency

In 1997 McAleese defeated former Taoiseach (prime minister) Albert Reynolds in an internal, party election held to determine the Fianna Fáil nomination for the Irish presidency. Many commentators criticised Fianna Fáil's decision to nominate McAleese, claiming the election of a Belfast Catholic would harm relations with Britain. Many referred to her as a "tribal time bomb". Her opponents in the 1997 presidential election were Mary Banotti of Fine Gael, Adi Roche (the Labour candidate) and two independents: Dana Rosemary Scallon and Derek Nally. On 11th November, 1997, she was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland, the first time in history that a woman had succeeded another woman as an elected head of state anywhere in the world.

Related Topics:
Taoiseach - Albert Reynolds - Fianna Fáil - Britain - 1997 presidential election - Mary Banotti - Fine Gael - Adi Roche - Labour - Dana Rosemary Scallon - Derek Nally - 11th November - Head of state

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McAleese's initial seven year term of office ended in November 2004, but she announced on 14th September of that year that she would be standing for a second term in the 2004 presidential election. Following the failure of any other candidate to secure the necessary support for a nomination, the incumbent president stood unopposed and was declared elected on 1st October. She was officially re-inaugurated at the commencement of her second seven year term on 11th November. McAleese's very high job approval ratings were widely seen as the reason for her re-election, with no opposition party willing to bear the cost (financial or political) of competing in an election that would prove very difficult to win1.

Related Topics:
14th September - 2004 presidential election - 1st October - 11th November

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McAleese has said that the theme of her presidency is "building bridges". The first individual born in Northern Ireland to become President of Ireland, President McAleese is a regular visitor to Northern Ireland, where she has been warmly welcomed by both communities, confounding the critics who had believed she would be a divisive figure. She is also an admirer of Queen Elizabeth II, whom she came to know when she was Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queens. It is said to be one of her major personal ambitions to host the first ever visit to the Republic of Ireland of a British head of state. In March 1998, McAleese announced that she would officially celebrate the Twelfth of July as well as Saint Patrick's Day, recognising the day's importance among Ulster Protestants, Ireland's largest minority.

Related Topics:
Queen Elizabeth II - Twelfth of July - Saint Patrick's Day - Ulster - Protestants

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On 27th January, 2005, following her attendance at the ceremony commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, she caused controversy by making reference to the way in which some Protestant children in Northern Ireland had been brought up to hate Catholics just as German children were encouraged to hate Jews under the Nazis. These remarks caused outrage among unionist politicians. McAleese later apologised, conceding that, because she had criticised only the sectarianism found on one side of the community, her words had been unbalanced.

Related Topics:
27th January - 2005 - Auschwitz concentration camp - Jews - Nazi

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On May 22, 2005, she is scheduled to appear as the Commencement Speaker at Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA, the visit has prompted protests by ultra-conservatives due to the Presidents liberal views on homosexuality and women priests. http://www.studentlife.villanova.edu/commencement/speakerinfo2005.htm

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