Martin, Micheál (1960-…), is an Irish politician. He is a member of Fianna Fáil, one of the leading political parties of the Republic of Ireland. From 2020 to 2022, Martin served as taoiseach << TEE shok >> (prime minister) of Ireland. The government led by Martin was the first coalition (cooperative) government to include the country’s rival center-right political parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
Martin was born on Aug. 1, 1960, in Cork, in County Cork in southern Ireland. He became interested in politics during college. In 1981, Martin received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College Cork. He then completed a Master of Arts degree in political history, also at University College Cork, and became a teacher at a secondary school in Cork.
Martin was elected to the corporation (city council) of Cork in 1985. From 1992 to 1993, he served as the lord mayor of Cork. He rose to national recognition in 1989 as a teachta Dála (TD), a member of Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland), the lower house of Ireland’s Parliament. Martin has held several cabinet positions. They include minister for education (1997-2000), minister for health (2000-2004), minister for enterprise, trade, and employment (2004-2008), and minister for foreign affairs (2008-2011). As minister for health, Martin introduced Ireland’s first ban on smoking in workplaces. Martin wrote a book of political analysis, Freedom to Choose: Cork and Party Politics in Ireland 1918-1932 (2009).
In June 2020, Fine Gael entered into a coalition government with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. Before 2020, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had alternated in power. As part of the new governing agreement, Martin succeeded former taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Also under the agreement, Varadkar succeeded Martin in December 2022. Martin then became tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and the minister for foreign affairs.
