Burak Bir
23 January 2025•Update: 24 January 2025
LONDON
Ireland’s parliament elected Foreign Minister Micheal Martin the country’s new taoiseach, or prime minister, on Thursday.
Martin, the leader of Fianna Fail, has been elected taoiseach for the second time, succeeding Fine Gael leader Simon Harris.
The election vote came following a heated row between the government and opposition parties as parliament was suspended several times on Wednesday.
The Dail, Irish parliament, approved the proposal to nominate Martin as taoiseach for appointment by President Michael Higgins.
He traveled to Aras an Uachterain to receive his seal of office from Higgins.
Sharing a video clip from the moment on X, Martin said he is "deeply honoured to accept the Seal of the Taoiseach from President Michael D. Higgins."
The new Taoiseach then returned to the Government Buildings to form his Cabinet.
The Dail is expected to reconvene when the full Cabinet lineup is revealed and put to a vote, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.
There were 95 votes in favor of the 64-year-old Fianna Fail leader and 76 against.
In his speech, the veteran politician thanked his party, Fine Gael, and regional independents who "negotiated a program for government in an upfront and honest manner."
He said that many parliaments in the world have become "more angry and divisive."
"They have become forums dominated by the inflated rhetoric of demonstrations, rather than a place where different groups can argue in good faith and respectfully disagree," said Martin.
"We should never take for granted the freedoms and opportunities secured for us by the generations who sat here before us."
Following the parliamentary vote, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Martin's appointment.
Martin's Fianna Fail emerged as the largest party following the Irish general election in November 2024.
It won 48 seats while Sinn Féin—the main opposition party in the last Dail—won 39, and Fine Gael, which has been in coalition with Fianna Fáil since 2020, became third with 38 seats.
