McAleese, Mary (1951-…), was the president of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second woman and the first native of Northern Ireland to serve as Irish head of state.
McAleese was born Mary Patricia Leneghan in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 27, 1951. She earned law degrees from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Dublin (Trinity College). She became Reid professor of law at Trinity, succeeding Mary Robinson, whom she also succeeded as president of Ireland. McAleese worked as a television journalist before becoming director of Northern Ireland’s Institute of Professional Legal Studies in 1987. In 1994, she became pro vice chancellor (assistant to the chief executive) of Queen’s University, the first woman to hold such a post.
McAleese is a British subject by birth. However, she qualified for Ireland’s presidency because the Irish Constitution regards citizens of Northern Ireland as citizens of the republic.
