The Tánaiste (, ) is the deputy head of government of the Republic of Ireland and second highest ranking member of the executive branch. The Tánaiste is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems.
The Tánaiste is appointed by the president of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is Simon Harris, TD, who was appointed on 23 January 2025.
History
Under the Gaelic system of tanistry, the word (plural , , approximately ) had been used for the heir of the chief () or king (). The word was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title for a member of the government nominated by the Taoiseach to act in their place as needed during periods of the Taoiseach's temporary absence.
Tánaiste is the official title of the deputy head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for other countries' deputy prime ministers, who are referred to in Irish by the generic term , , approximately . The Irish form, , is sometimes used in English instead of "the Tánaiste".
Overview The office was created in 1937 under the new Constitution of Ireland and replaced the previous office of Vice-President of the Executive Council, which had existed under the Constitution of the Irish Free State, and which was first held by Kevin O'Higgins of Cumann na nGaedheal from 1922 to 1927.
The Taoiseach nominates one member of the Government to the office who is required to be a member of Dáil Éireann.Article 28.7.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The nominee then receives their seal of office from the President of Ireland in recognition of the appointment. The Tánaiste acts in the place of the Taoiseach during a temporary absence. In the event of the Taoiseach's death or permanent incapacitation, the Tánaiste acts as Taoiseach until another is appointed.Article 28.6.2° and 28.6.3° of the Constitution of Ireland. The Tánaiste is, , a member of the Council of State. The Tánaiste chairs meetings of the government in the absence of the Taoiseach and may take questions on their behalf in the Dáil or Seanad.
Aside from those duties, the title is largely honorific as the Constitution does not confer any additional powers on the office holder over and above the other members of the Government. In theory, the Tánaiste could be a minister without portfolio, but every Tánaiste has in parallel held a ministerial portfolio as head of a Department of State. The Department of the Taoiseach is a Department of State, but there is no equivalent for the Tánaiste. Dick Spring in the Rainbow Coalition (1994–1997) had an official "Office of the Tánaiste", but other parties have not used that nomenclature. Under Spring, Eithne Fitzgerald was "Minister of State at the Office of the Tánaiste", with responsibility for co-ordinating Labour policy in the coalition.
Under a coalition government, the Tánaiste is typically the leader of the second-largest coalition partner, just as the Taoiseach is usually leader of the coalition's senior partner. However, during the coalition governments in 1989–1992 and 2007–2011, the position was held by Fianna Fáil's deputy leader, rather than the leader of a junior partner. As part of a rotating Taoiseach agreement since 2020, the role of Tánaiste gained increased prominence and responsibility in coordinating and Government policy as it was held by Leo Varadkar for the first half of the Government's term in office prior to his appointment as Taoiseach and Micheál Martin in the second half.
The office of Tánaiste is as yet the highest government rank attained by a woman Minister.
Four Tánaistí later held the office of Taoiseach: Seán Lemass, Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, and Leo Varadkar (his second term as Taoiseach). Varadkar is also one of three Tánaistí, with Micheál Martin and Simon Harris, to have previously held the office of Taoiseach before becoming Tánaiste. Two Tánaistí were later elected as President of Ireland: Seán T. O'Kelly and Erskine H. Childers.
List of office-holders Vice-President of the Executive Council PortraitNameTerm of officeParty Exec. Council Ministries as Vice-President 1 Kevin O'Higgins 1922 1927 Cumann na nGaedheal 1·2 2 Ernest Blythe 1927 1932 Cumann na nGaedheal 3·4·5 3 Seán T. O'Kelly 1932 1937 Fianna Fáil 6·7·8 Tánaiste Portrait NameTerm of officeParty Government Ministries as TánaisteHigher Offices Held Seán T. O'Kelly 1937 1945 Fianna Fáil 1·2·3·4 4 Seán Lemass 1945 1948 Fianna Fáil 4 5 William Norton 1948 1951 Labour 5 Seán Lemass 1951 1954 Fianna Fáil 6 William Norton 1954 1957 Labour 7 Seán Lemass 1957 1959 Fianna Fáil 8 6 Seán MacEntee 1959 1965 Fianna Fáil 9·10 7 Frank Aiken 1965 1969 Fianna Fáil 1112 8 Erskine H. Childers 1969 1973 Fianna Fáil 13 9 Brendan Corish 1973 1977 Labour 14 10 George Colley 1977 1981 Fianna Fáil 1516 11 Michael O'Leary 1981 1982 Labour 17 12 Ray MacSharry 1982 1982 Fianna Fáil 18 13 Dick Spring 1982 1987 Labour19 14 Peter Barry 1987 1987 Fine Gael 15 Brian Lenihan 1987 1990 Fianna Fáil 20·21 16 John Wilson 1990 1993 Fianna Fáil21 22 Dick Spring 1993 1994 Labour23 17 Bertie Ahern 1994 1994 Fianna Fáil Dick Spring 1994 1997 Labour 24 18 Mary Harney 1997 2006 Progressive Democrats 25·26 19 Michael McDowell 2006 2007 Progressive Democrats 26 20 Brian Cowen 2007 2008 Fianna Fáil 27 21 Mary Coughlan 2008 2011 Fianna Fáil 28 22 Eamon Gilmore 2011 2014 Labour29 23 Joan Burton 2014 2016 Labour 24 Frances Fitzgerald 2016 2017Fine Gael 30 31 25 Simon Coveney 2017 2020 Fine Gael 26 Leo Varadkar 2020 2022 Fine Gael32 27 Micheál Martin20222025 Fianna Fáil3334 28 Simon Harris 2025 Incumbent Fine Gael35
Timeline This is a graphical lifespan timeline of Tánaistí. They are listed in order of office (Lemass, Norton, and Spring are shown in order of their first terms).
References