Billy Kelleher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Billy Kelleher
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| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2019 |
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| Constituency | South |
| Minister of State | |
| 2007–2011 | Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office June 1997 – July 2019 |
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| Constituency | Cork North-Central |
| Senator | |
| In office 17 February 1993 – 6 June 1997 |
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| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Kelleher
20 January 1968 Cork, Ireland |
| Political party |
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| Spouse |
Liza Davis
(m. 2002) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Pallaskenry Agricultural College |
William Kelleher (born 20 January 1968) is an Irish politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South area of Ireland since July 2019. He is a member of the Fianna Fáil political party in Ireland. In the European Union, he is part of the Renew Europe group.
Before becoming an MEP, he was a Minister of State in Ireland. He worked in areas like trade and labour from 2007 to 2011. He was also a Teachta Dála (TD), which is a member of the Irish parliament, for the Cork North-Central area from 1997 to 2019. Earlier in his career, he was a Senator from 1993 to 1997.
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About William Kelleher
Early Life and Education
William Kelleher grew up in County Cork, Ireland. He went to Sacred Heart College in Carrignavar. For his college education, he studied at Pallaskenry Agricultural College in County Limerick. Before he became a politician, he worked as a farmer.
He is married to Liza Davis. They have two daughters and one son. He is also related to Liam Burke, who was another politician.
Becoming a Politician
William Kelleher first tried to get elected in 1992 but just missed out. However, the Taoiseach (Ireland's Prime Minister) Albert Reynolds chose him to be a Senator in 1993.
He was first elected to Dáil Éireann, the main Irish parliament, in 1997. He kept his seat in every election until 2016. This means he was re-elected many times by the people of Cork North-Central.
From 2007 to 2009, he was a Minister of State for Labour Affairs. Then, from 2009 to 2011, he was the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce. He also served as the assistant Chief Whip for the government. He was the main spokesperson for health for his party, Fianna Fáil. He once suggested that the legal age to buy alcohol from shops should be raised. In 2016, he helped lead his party's election campaign.
In 2006, he was fined and received penalty points on his driving licence for speeding. This happened while he was driving to the parliament building in Dublin.
In the European Parliament
In 2019, William Kelleher was elected to the European Parliament. He represents the South constituency of Ireland as an MEP. He is a full member of the ANIT committee, which deals with animal transport.
In 2020, he asked his party leader, Micheál Martin, to look into why the Fianna Fáil party was losing support.
In 2022, he was one of several politicians who asked the Irish government to remove the Russian ambassador from Ireland. This was after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kelleher traveled to Poland and Ukraine with another politician, Timmy Dooley. In the city of Lviv, they met with the mayor and the governor. When asked about Ukrainian refugees, Kelleher said that Ireland must help by providing many places for them to stay.
In March 2022, Kelleher said that Sinn Féin (another political party) had removed old statements from their website. He believed this showed that their past views on important issues were wrong. In April 2022, he asked Kerry Group, a company he had shares in, to stop doing business in Russia. Kerry Group later decided to stop their operations in Russia and Belarus, which Kelleher supported.
