Kenny, Enda (1951-…), served as prime minister of Ireland from March 2011 to June 2017. Ireland’s prime minister is called the taoiseach << TEE shok >> . Kenny was the leader of Ireland’s center-right Fine Gael (United Ireland) party from 2002 to 2017. Ireland’s Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) elected him prime minister following Fine Gael’s victory in 2011 elections. Kenny succeeded Brian Cowen , leader of the defeated Fianna Fáil party. Kenny was replaced as prime minister in 2017 by Leo Varadkar, the new leader of Fine Gael.
Kenny was born on April 24, 1951, in Castlebar, County Mayo. He attended the National University of Ireland, Galway, and St. Patrick’s College of Education in Dublin. Before entering politics, Kenny worked briefly as a schoolteacher. He married Fionnuala O’Kelly, a former Fianna Fáil press officer and a press secretary in Taoiseach Charles Haughey’s government, in 1992. The couple have three children.
Kenny’s father, Henry, was a long-serving teachta Dála (TD), or member of Dáil Éireann. In 1975, Henry Kenny died, and Enda won his father’s seat in a special election. He is now Ireland’s longest-serving TD. Kenny served as Ireland’s minister for tourism and trade from 1994 to 1997.
