Pat Rabbitte
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Pat Rabbitte (born May 18, 1949) is a senior Irish politician, who has been the leader of the Labour Party since 2002. He is a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South West and is also Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland.
Pat Rabbitte was born in County Mayo and was educated at St. Colman's College, Claremorris and University College Galway. He was elected President of the Students' Union in the university in 1970. Between 1972 and 1974 he achieved national attention when he served as President of the NAtional Union of Students in Ireland. In 1974 he became an official in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), becoming National Secretary for the union in 1980.
In 1989 Rabbitte was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Workers' Party TD for Dublin South West. He has retained his seat at every election since as a Workers' Party, then Democratic Left and now Labour Party deputy. During the Rainbow Coalition government between 1994 and 1997 Rabbitte served as Minister of State to the Government, as well as Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for Commerce, Science & Technology.
In 2002 Rabbitte became the new leader of the Labour Party. Rabbitte is noted in the Dáil for his anti-Fianna Fáil rhetoric. While the next general election isn't due to be held in the Republic of Ireland until 2007, he has ruled out entering into a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, favouring a pre-election pact with Enda Kenny's Fine Gael Party..
| Preceded by: Ruairí Quinn | Leader of the Irish Labour Party 2002- | Succeeded by: Current Incumbent |