Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála from 1977 to 2011, he served as Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997. He was also Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1986 to 1987, Tánaiste from November to December 1994, and Minister for Finance from 1991 to 1994.
Fianna Fáil led [|three coalition governments] under Ahern's leadership; he is the second-longest serving Taoiseach, after Éamon de Valera. He resigned as Taoiseach on 6 May 2008, in the wake of revelations made by the Mahon Tribunal over payments received from developers; he was succeeded by Brian Cowen. Fianna Fáil proposed to expel politicians censured by the tribunal, but Ahern resigned his membership prior to the expulsion motion. In 2016, Fianna Fáil announced that it had given Ahern the option of rejoining the party. He rejoined in February 2023.
Early life
Ahern was born in Drumcondra, Dublin, the youngest of five children of Con and Julia Ahern, both natives of County Cork, who married in October 1937. They settled at Church Avenue, Drumcondra, where they resided for the rest of their lives. The other four children are Maurice, Kathleen, Noel and Eileen. In Dublin, Ahern's father worked as a farm manager at All Hallows College, Drumcondra. Ahern's brother Noel was also involved in politics and represented Dublin North-West from 1992 to 2011.Ahern's father Con was born into a farming family near Ballyfeard, which is located near Kinsale, County Cork, in 1904. His mother also came from a farming background and was from near Castledonovan, west County Cork. Ahern's father, Con, initially left County Cork and went to Dublin in the early 1930s to train for the priesthood, but did not complete his studies with the Vincentian order. He had fought in the Irish Civil War. He was a supporter of Éamon de Valera and the Anti-Treaty IRA. He was a member of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the IRA. He remained a militant Irish Republican for decades after the War of Independence. Con Ahern died in 1990. Ahern's mother, Julia, died in 1998, aged 87 years.
Ahern was educated at St. Patrick's National School, Drumcondra, and at St. Aidan's Christian Brothers, Whitehall.
He received his third-level education at the College of Commerce, Rathmines, part of the Dublin Institute of Technology. Ahern has claimed or it has been claimed by others in circulated biographies that he was educated at University College Dublin and the London School of Economics, but neither university has any records that show Ahern was ever one of their students. He subsequently worked in the Accounts Department of the Mater Hospital, Dublin.
Ahern is an enthusiastic and vocal fan of sport. He is a supporter of Dublin GAA and attends Dublin matches in Croke Park. He also supports Manchester United F.C. and attends matches at Old Trafford and rugby matches at Lansdowne Road. He appeared as a pundit on RTÉ Two's The Premiership programme in 2001.
Early political career
Ahern first became involved in a Fianna Fáil by-election campaign in 1965, climbing lamp posts to hang election posters in Drumcondra. During the campaign, Ahern met his political mentor and future Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. Ahern became a member of Fianna Fáil at the age of 17, and in the 1969 general election he assisted with the election campaign in his constituency.Ahern first ran for office during the landslide 1977 general election when Fianna Fáil formed the last single-party majority government with a 20-seat Dáil majority, the largest ever. Ahern received 4,000 first preference votes in the newly created Dublin Finglas constituency and was elected with transfers from other candidates. He was elected at the 1979 Dublin Corporation election for the Cabra East–Finglas West local electoral area. He later switched to the North Inner City LEA before standing down before the 1991 local elections. In subsequent elections Ahern became one of the highest vote-getters in the country. In his Dublin Central constituency, electionsireland.org, run by pollsters Seán Donnelly and Christopher Took, described Ahern as:
During his first years as a Teachta Dála, Ahern was a backbencher, but displayed ambition. In 1979, when Charles Haughey and George Colley fought a divisive battle for the position of party leader and Taoiseach, Ahern is believed to have backed Haughey. Ahern had served on a health committee with Haughey in the mid-1970s. Following Haughey's victory, Ahern was appointed Assistant-Government Chief Whip.
In 1980, due to the illness of the actual Chief Whip, Seán Moore, he was effectively running the office. Ahern increased his personal vote in all three general elections of 1981 and 1982, out-polling his running mate, George Colley, previously a candidate for party leader. In the short-lived Fianna Fáil government of 1982, Ahern served as Government Chief Whip. Fianna Fáil were then consigned to the opposition benches for five years. During this period Ahern became Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Labour. In 1986, he became Lord Mayor of Dublin. During his tenure, he organised the Dublin Millennium festival.
Cabinet career
Minister for Labour
In 1987, Fianna Fáil returned to power as a minority government. Ahern was appointed to cabinet as Minister for Labour. In the following years, the department was important in stimulating Ireland's ailing economy. Ahern negotiated the first national wage agreement between unions and employers, The Programme for National Recovery. This and the subsequent national wage agreement came to be known as the 'Irish model' and have been adopted by a number of European countriesIn 1989, Haughey called an early general election. Fianna Fáil lost seats and was entered a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. Ahern retained his position as Minister for Labour in the government of the 26th Dáil. In 1990, Ahern negotiated the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.
In 1990, Ahern was campaign manager for the presidential bid of his cabinet colleague, Brian Lenihan. It proved to be Ahern's least successful campaign as Lenihan lost to Labour Party candidate Mary Robinson. Ahern was damaged in the short term by being seen as the first Fianna Fáil presidential election campaign manager to lose a presidential election.
In 1991, the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats programme for government was reviewed. Ahern was a key player in these talks yet again. His involvement prompted Haughey to remark of Ahern:
Minister for Finance
In November 1991, Reynolds, then Minister for Finance, launched a leadership challenge to Haughey. Ahern publicly backed Haughey. The challenge failed and Reynolds and his supporters were dismissed from the cabinet. In the reshuffle that followed, Ahern was appointed as Minister for Finance. According to statements given by Ahern while serving as Minister for Finance, he did not hold a personal bank account.Reynolds succeeds
In early 1992, Charles Haughey resigned as Taoiseach. Ahern was encouraged by Haughey and others to bid for the position. He was apprehensive, and remained out of the contest, allowing Reynolds to become party leader and Taoiseach. It is believed that Reynolds and Ahern struck a deal in which Ahern would withdraw and thus remain in the cabinet, to succeed subsequently. Ahern and Michael Woods were the only two senior members to remain in the new Reynolds cabinet, with Ahern retaining his Finance portfolio.Following the 1992 general election, Fianna Fáil formed a coalition government with the Labour Party. This lasted until 1994, when the Labour Party withdrew from government, due to unhappiness with Reynolds's proposed candidate for President of the High Court. Ahern briefly succeeded Labour leader Dick Spring as Tánaiste. However, the government fell after a motion of no confidence, proposed by Fine Gael and Leader of the Opposition John Bruton, seconded by Fianna Fáil's former coalition partners the Labour Party. Reynolds resigned as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader.
During 1993, while he was Finance Minister, Ahern accepted payments of IR £39,000 from various businessmen: see below for details. These payments did not become public knowledge until 2006.
In 1993, Ahern said in an interview that tax cheaters would be jailed.
He was also under scrutiny from the Mahon Tribunal for this cash payment and subsequent revelations in May 2007, of cash received from businessman Micheál Wall. In 2012, the tribunal's final report found that he failed to "truthfully" explain the source of the money and it rejected his evidence of "dig-outs".
Leader of Fianna Fáil
Ahern succeeded Reynolds as the leader; the first unopposed candidate since Seán Lemass in 1959. Ahern was elected as the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil on 19 December 1994.Negotiations for a resumption of government with the Labour Party began immediately. It was expected that the coalition would be renewed, clearing the way for Ahern to become Taoiseach. However, due to revelations that Ahern knew more about an aspect of the scandal that toppled Reynolds than previously known, Labour withdrew from the coalition, opting instead to go into coalition with Fine Gael. Ahern found himself as Leader of the Opposition.
In the 1997 general election Fianna Fáil's campaign centred on Ahern's personal popularity. At the election, while Fianna Fáil picked up seats, its preferred coalition partner, the Progressive Democrats, lost more than half their seats. However, Labour suffered even heavier losses, leaving Fine Gael short of the support it needed to stay in office. Ahern quickly formed a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats, with the support of four Independent TDs. On 26 June 1997, aged 45, Ahern became the youngest Taoiseach since W. T. Cosgrave.