Tánaiste facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tánaiste
Incumbent Simon Harris since 23 January 2025
Executive branch of the Irish Government
Style	Tánaiste Irish: A Thánaiste
Member of	Government of Ireland Council of State Dáil Éireann
Reports to	Taoiseach
Seat	Dublin, Ireland
Nominator	Taoiseach
Appointer	President of Ireland (on the advice of the Taoiseach)
Inaugural holder	Seán T. O'Kelly
Formation	29 December 1937
Salary	€229,473 (2025) (including €115,953 TD salary)

The Tánaiste (pronounced TAW-nish-tuh) is a very important role in the government of Ireland. It is the second-highest position in the Irish government. Think of it like a deputy prime minister in other countries.

The Tánaiste helps lead the country alongside the Taoiseach, who is like the prime minister. The current Tánaiste is Simon Harris, who started this job on 23 January 2025.

Understanding the Tánaiste's Role

What Does the Tánaiste Do?

The Tánaiste is chosen by the Taoiseach and then officially appointed by the President of Ireland. This person must be a member of Dáil Éireann, which is like Ireland's main parliament.

The Tánaiste steps in for the Taoiseach if they are away for a short time. If something serious happens, like the Taoiseach becoming unable to do their job, the Tánaiste acts as the Taoiseach until a new one is chosen. The Tánaiste also attends meetings of the Council of State.

More About the Tánaiste's Duties

The Tánaiste often leads government meetings when the Taoiseach is not there. They can also answer questions in the Dáil or Seanad on behalf of the Taoiseach.

Even though the title is very important, the Tánaiste doesn't get many extra powers just from this role. However, every Tánaiste has also held another important job as a government minister. This means they lead a specific government department, like health or finance.

The Tánaiste in Coalition Governments

In Ireland, governments are often formed by a group of political parties working together. This is called a coalition government. Usually, the Tánaiste is the leader of the second-biggest party in this group. The Taoiseach is usually the leader of the largest party.

Sometimes, the role of Tánaiste has been held by the deputy leader of the main party. Since 2020, there has been an agreement for the Taoiseach role to rotate between party leaders. This has made the Tánaiste's job even more important. They help a lot with planning and coordinating government policies.

Notable Tánaistí in History

Many people who have been Tánaiste have gone on to hold other very high positions. Four former Tánaistí later became Taoiseach. These include Seán Lemass, Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, and Leo Varadkar.

Interestingly, Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin, and Simon Harris have all been Taoiseach before becoming Tánaiste. Also, two Tánaistí, Seán T. O'Kelly and Erskine H. Childers, later became President of Ireland. The office of Tánaiste is also the highest government rank a woman minister has held in Ireland.

A Look Back at the Tánaiste's History

Where Did the Name Come From?

The word Tánaiste comes from an old Irish system called tanistry. In this system, a tánaiste was the chosen heir or successor to a chief (called a taoiseach) or a king (called a rí). It was a way to decide who would lead next.

When Ireland created its new Constitution of Ireland in 1937, they decided to use this old Irish word. It became the official title for the person who would step in for the Taoiseach if needed.

From Vice-President to Tánaiste

Before 1937, there was a similar job called the Vice-President of the Executive Council. This role existed under the earlier Constitution of the Irish Free State. The first person to hold this job was Kevin O'Higgins from 1922 to 1927.

So, the Tánaiste role continued the idea of having a second-in-command for the government. The title Tánaiste is used in both English and Irish for this specific Irish role. For deputy prime ministers in other countries, the Irish language uses a different, more general term.

List of Office-holders

Vice-President of the Executive Council
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office		Party		Exec. Council (President)	Ministries as Vice-President
1		Kevin O'Higgins (1892–1927) TD for Leix–Offaly until 1923 TD for Dublin County from 1923	6 December 1922	10 July 1927		Cumann na nGaedheal	1·2 (W.T.Cosgrave)	Justice (1922–1927)
2		Ernest Blythe (1889–1975) TD for Monaghan	14 July 1927	9 March 1932		Cumann na nGaedheal	3·4·5 (W.T.Cosgrave)	Posts and Telegraphs (1927–1932)
3		Seán T. O'Kelly (1882–1966) TD for Dublin North until 1937 TD for Dublin North-West from 1937	9 March 1932	29 December 1937		Fianna Fáil	6·7·8 (de Valera)	Local Government and Public Health (1932–1937)
Tánaiste
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office		Party		Government (Taoiseach)	Ministries as Tánaiste Higher Offices Held
(3)		Seán T. O'Kelly (1882–1966) TD for Dublin North-West	29 December 1937	14 June 1945		Fianna Fáil	1·2·3·4 (de Valera)	Local Government and Public Health (1937–1939) Education (1939) Finance (1939–1945) President of Ireland (1945–1959)
4		Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South	14 June 1945	18 February 1948		Fianna Fáil	4 (de Valera)	Supplies (1945) Industry and Commerce (1945–1948)
5		William Norton (1900–1963) TD for Kildare	18 February 1948	13 June 1951		Labour Party	5 (Costello)	Social Welfare (1948–1951)
(4)		Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South-Central	13 June 1951	2 June 1954		Fianna Fáil	6 (de Valera)	Industry and Commerce (1951–1954)
(5)		William Norton (1900–1963) TD for Kildare	2 June 1954	20 March 1957		Labour Party	7 (Costello)	Industry and Commerce (1954–1957)
(4)		Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South-Central	20 March 1957	23 June 1959		Fianna Fáil	8 (de Valera)	Industry and Commerce (1957–1959) Taoiseach (1959–1966)
6		Seán MacEntee (1889–1984) TD for Dublin South-East	23 June 1959	21 April 1965		Fianna Fáil	9·10 (Lemass)	Health (1959–1965)
7		Frank Aiken (1898–1983) TD for Louth	21 April 1965	2 July 1969		Fianna Fáil	11 (Lemass) 12 (Lynch)	External Affairs (1965–1969)
8		Erskine H. Childers (1905–1974) TD for Monaghan	2 July 1969	14 March 1973		Fianna Fáil	13 (Lynch)	Health (1969–1973) President of Ireland (1973–1974)
9		Brendan Corish (1918–1990) TD for Wexford	14 March 1973	5 July 1977		Labour Party	14 (L. Cosgrave)	Health (1973–1977)
10		George Colley (1925–1983) TD for Dublin Clontarf	5 July 1977	30 June 1981		Fianna Fáil	15 (Lynch) 16 (Haughey)	Finance (1977–1979) Tourism and Transport (1979–1980) Energy (1980–1981)
11		Michael O'Leary (1936–2006) TD for Dublin Central	30 June 1981	9 March 1982		Labour Party	17 (FitzGerald)	Energy (1981–1982)
12		Ray MacSharry (born 1938) TD for Sligo–Leitrim	9 March 1982	14 December 1982		Fianna Fáil	18 (Haughey)	Finance (1982)
13		Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North	14 December 1982	20 January 1987		Labour Party	19 (FitzGerald)	Environment (1982–1983) Energy (1983–1987)
14		Peter Barry (1928–2016) TD for Cork South-Central	20 January 1987	10 March 1987		Fine Gael		Foreign Affairs (1987)
15		Brian Lenihan (1930–1995) TD for Dublin West	10 March 1987	31 October 1990		Fianna Fáil	20·21 (Haughey)	Foreign Affairs (1987–1989) Defence (1989–1990)
16		John Wilson (1923–2007) TD for Cavan–Monaghan	13 November 1990	12 January 1993		Fianna Fáil	21 (Haughey)	Marine (1990–1992)
							22 (Reynolds)	Defence and Gaeltacht (1992–1993)
(13)		Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North	12 January 1993	17 November 1994		Labour Party	23 (Reynolds)	Foreign Affairs (1993–1994)
17		Bertie Ahern (born 1951) TD for Dublin Central	17 November 1994	15 December 1994		Fianna Fáil		Finance (1994) Taoiseach (1997–2008)
(13)		Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North	15 December 1994	26 June 1997		Labour Party	24 (Bruton)	Foreign Affairs (1994–1997)
18		Mary Harney (born 1953) TD for Dublin South-West until 2002 TD for Dublin Mid-West from 2002	26 June 1997	13 September 2006		Progressive Democrats	25·26 (Ahern)	Enterprise, Trade and Employment (1997–2004) Health and Children (2004–2006)
19		Michael McDowell (born 1951) TD for Dublin South-East	13 September 2006	14 June 2007		Progressive Democrats	26 (Ahern)	Justice, Equality and Law Reform (2002–2007)
20		Brian Cowen (born 1960) TD for Laois–Offaly	14 June 2007	7 May 2008		Fianna Fáil	27 (Ahern)	Finance (2007–2008) Taoiseach (2008–2011)
21		Mary Coughlan (born 1965) TD for Donegal South-West	7 May 2008	9 March 2011		Fianna Fáil	28 (Cowen)	Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2008–2010) Education and Skills (2010–2011) Health and Children (2011)
22		Eamon Gilmore (born 1955) TD for Dún Laoghaire	9 March 2011	4 July 2014		Labour Party	29 (Kenny)	Foreign Affairs and Trade (2011–2014)
23		Joan Burton (born 1949) TD for Dublin West	4 July 2014	6 May 2016		Labour Party		Social Protection (2014–2016)
24		Frances Fitzgerald (born 1950) TD for Dublin Mid-West	6 May 2016	28 November 2017		Fine Gael	30 (Kenny)	Justice and Equality (2016–2017)
							31 (Varadkar)	Business, Enterprise and Innovation (2017)
25		Simon Coveney (born 1972) TD for Cork South Central	30 November 2017	27 June 2020		Fine Gael		Foreign Affairs and Trade (2017–2020)
26		Leo Varadkar (born 1979) TD for Dublin West	27 June 2020	17 December 2022		Fine Gael	32 (Martin)	Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2020–2022) Taoiseach (2017−2020, 2022–2024)
27		Micheál Martin (born 1960) TD for Cork South-Central	17 December 2022	23 January 2025		Fianna Fáil	33 (Varadkar)	Taoiseach (2020−2022, 2025−present) Foreign Affairs (2022–2025) Defence (2022–2025)
							34 (Harris)
28		Simon Harris (born 1986) TD for Wicklow	23 January 2025	Incumbent		Fine Gael	35 (Martin)	Taoiseach (2024−2025) Foreign Affairs and Trade (2025–present) Defence (2025–present)

Timeline of Tánaistí

This chart shows how long each Tánaiste lived and when they held office. They are listed by when they first started their job.

See also

In Spanish: Tánaiste para niños