Micheál Martin

Who is Micheál Martin?

Micheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South–Central constituency. Prior to becoming party leader, Martin served as Minister for Education and Science, Minister for Health and Children, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Minister for Foreign Affairs.

As Minister for Health and Children in 2004, he introduced a ban on tobacco smoking in all Irish workplaces and established the Health Service Executive. Ireland was the first country to introduce a full workplace smoking ban. As Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2009, Martin travelled to Latin America for the first time, and made the first official visit to Cuba by an Irish government minister. That same year, he travelled to Khartoum following the kidnapping of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki. In 2010 he became the first Western foreign minister to visit Gaza since Hamas took control there in 2007. On 18 January 2011 Brian Cowen accepted his resignation as Foreign Minister.