Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland)

Minister for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs
	Incumbent; Simon Coveney; since 14 June 2017
	Department of Foreign Affairs
Member of	Cabinet; Council of the European Union; Dáil Éireann;
Reports to	Taoiseach
Seat	Iveagh House, Dublin, Ireland
Appointer	President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach
Inaugural holder	George Noble Plunkett
Formation	22 January 1919
Website	Department of Foreign Affairs

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Irish: An tAire Gnóthaí Eachtracha) is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Ireland.

The Minister's office is located at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole. From 1922 until 1971 the title of the office was "Minister for External Affairs".

The current office holder is Simon Coveney, TD. He is also Minister for Defence.

He is assisted by:

Overview

The department has the following divisions:

Finance Unit – oversees the financial control of the department.
Anglo-Irish Division – deals with Anglo-Irish relations and Northern Ireland.
Cultural Division – administers the state's Cultural Relations Programme.
European Union Division – coordinates the state's approach within the European Union (EU).
Development Cooperation Division – responsible for the Irish Aid programme and for Irish international development policy.
Passport and Consular Division – is responsible for the issuing of passports to Irish citizens.
Political Division – is responsible for international political issues and manages the state's participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Protocol Division – is responsible for the organisation and management of visits of VIPs to the state and of visits abroad by the President of Ireland.

The Minister has responsibility for the relations between Ireland and foreign states. The department defines its role as: "The Department of Foreign Affairs advises the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of State and the Government on all aspects of foreign policy and coordinates Ireland's response to international developments.

It also provides advice and support on all issues relevant to the pursuit of peace, partnership and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, and between North and South of the island, and to deepening Ireland's relationship with Britain."^[3]

List of office-holders

Denotes acting Minister

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)^[a]
Minister for Foreign Affairs 1919–1922
1		George Noble Plunkett	22 January 1919	26 August 1921 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin" \|	Sinn Féin	1st DM · 2nd DM
2		Arthur Griffith^[b] (1st time)	26 August 1921	9 January 1922 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin" \|	Sinn Féin	3rd DM
3		George Gavan Duffy	10 January 1922	25 July 1922 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)" \|	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	4th DM · 1st PG
		Arthur Griffith (2nd time)	26 July 1922	12 August 1922 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)" \|	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	4th DM · 1st PG
4		Michael Hayes (acting)	21 August 1922	9 September 1922 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)" \|	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	4th DM · 1st PG
Minister for External Affairs 1922–1971
No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
5		Desmond FitzGerald	30 August 1922	23 June 1927 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #87CEFA;" data-sort-value="Cumann na nGaedheal" \|	Cumann na nGaedheal	2nd PG · 5th DM · 1st EC · 2nd EC
6		Kevin O'Higgins	23 June 1927	10 July 1927 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #87CEFA;" data-sort-value="Cumann na nGaedheal" \|	Cumann na nGaedheal	3rd EC
7		W. T. Cosgrave (acting)	10 July 1927	11 October 1927 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #87CEFA;" data-sort-value="Cumann na nGaedheal" \|	Cumann na nGaedheal	3rd EC
8		Patrick McGilligan	11 October 1927	9 March 1932 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #87CEFA;" data-sort-value="Cumann na nGaedheal" \|	Cumann na nGaedheal	4th EC · 5th EC
9		Éamon de Valera^[c]	9 March 1932	18 February 1948 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	6th EC · 7th EC · 8th EC · 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th
10		Seán MacBride	18 February 1948	13 June 1951 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #DDFFDD;" data-sort-value="Clann na Poblachta" \|	Clann na Poblachta	5th
11		Frank Aiken (1st time)	13 June 1951	2 June 1954 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	6th
12		Liam Cosgrave	2 June 1954	20 March 1957 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	7th
		Frank Aiken (2nd time)	20 March 1957	2 July 1969 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th
13		Patrick Hillery	2 July 1969	3 March 1971 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	13th
Minister for Foreign Affairs 1971–2011
No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
		Patrick Hillery	3 March 1971	3 January 1973 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	13th
14		Brian Lenihan (1st time)	3 January 1973	14 March 1973 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	13th
15		Garret FitzGerald	14 March 1973	5 July 1977 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	14th
16		Michael O'Kennedy	5 July 1977	11 December 1979 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	15th
		Brian Lenihan (2nd time)	12 December 1979	30 June 1981 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	16th
17		John Kelly (acting)^[d]	30 June 1981	21 October 1981 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	17th
18		James Dooge	21 October 1981	9 March 1982 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	17th
19		Gerry Collins (1st time)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	18th
20		Peter Barry	14 December 1982	10 March 1987 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	19th
		Brian Lenihan (3rd time)	10 March 1987	12 July 1989 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	20th
		Gerry Collins (2nd time)	12 July 1989	11 February 1992 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	21st
21		David Andrews (1st time)	11 February 1992	12 January 1993 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	22nd
22		Dick Spring (1st time)	12 January 1993	17 November 1994 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (Ireland)" \|	Labour	23rd
23		Albert Reynolds (acting)	18 November 1994	15 December 1994 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	23rd
		Dick Spring (2nd time)	15 December 1994	26 June 1997 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (Ireland)" \|	Labour	24th
24		Ray Burke	26 June 1997	7 October 1997 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	25th
		David Andrews (2nd time)	8 October 1997	27 January 2000 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	25th
25		Brian Cowen	27 January 2000	29 September 2004 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	25th · 26th
26		Dermot Ahern	29 September 2004	7 May 2008 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	26th · 27th
27		Micheál Martin	7 May 2008	19 January 2011 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	28th
25		Brian Cowen (2nd time)	19 January 2011	9 March 2011 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" \|	Fianna Fáil	28th
28		Eamon Gilmore	9 March 2011	2 June 2011 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (Ireland)" \|	Labour	29th
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 2011–2020
No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
		Eamon Gilmore	2 June 2011	11 July 2014 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (Ireland)" \|	Labour	29th
29		Charles Flanagan	11 July 2014	14 June 2017 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	29th · 30th
30		Simon Coveney^[e]	14 June 2017	24 September 2020 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	31st · 32nd
Minister for Foreign Affairs 2020–present
No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
		Simon Coveney^[e]	24 September 2020	Incumbent style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" \|	Fine Gael	32nd

Notes

^ Before 1937: DM – Dáil Ministry; PG – Provisional Government; EC – Executive Council.
^ On the first occasion he held the foreign affairs portfolio, Arthur Griffith's title was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
^ Éamon de Valera, who was head of government (President of the Executive Council until 1937, renamed Taoiseach in 1937) served as his own foreign minister.
^ John Kelly, who was also Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, was named as acting Minister for Foreign Affairs until Dooge was appointed to Seanad Éireann and later appointed as minister.
^ ^a ^b Also Minister for Defence from 27 June 2020.

References

^ "List of Ministers and Ministers of State", Government of Ireland, retrieved 31 July 2020
^ "Our Ministers". Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
^ Department of Foreign Affairs: The Role of the Department

External links

Minister for Foreign Affairs

[4] Before 1937: DM – Dáil Ministry; PG – Provisional Government; EC – Executive Council.

[5] On the first occasion he held the foreign affairs portfolio, Arthur Griffith's title was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

[6] Éamon de Valera, who was head of government (President of the Executive Council until 1937, renamed Taoiseach in 1937) served as his own foreign minister.

[7] John Kelly, who was also Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, was named as acting Minister for Foreign Affairs until Dooge was appointed to Seanad Éireann and later appointed as minister.

[Coveney-8] Also Minister for Defence from 27 June 2020.

[1] "List of Ministers and Ministers of State", Government of Ireland, retrieved 31 July 2020

[2] "Our Ministers". Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 August 2020.

[3] Department of Foreign Affairs: The Role of the Department

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

v t e Government of Ireland
Political posts	Taoiseach (prime minister) Tánaiste (deputy prime minister)
Ministries	Agriculture, Food and the Marine Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Defence Education Enterprise, Trade and Employment Environment, Climate and Communications Finance Foreign Affairs Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Health Housing, Local Government and Heritage Justice Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Rural and Community Development Social Protection Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Transport
Former ministries	Co-ordination of Defensive Measures Economic Affairs Fine Arts Industries Labour Posts and Telegraphs Publicity Supplies
Other	List of Governments Government Chief Whip Female cabinet ministers Minister of State (junior minister) Female Ministers of State Attorney General

Overview

List of office-holders

Minister for Foreign Affairs 1919–1922

Minister for External Affairs 1922–1971

Minister for Foreign Affairs 1971–2011

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 2011–2020

Minister for Foreign Affairs 2020–present

References

External links