Autumn dinner 2009
Guest speaker Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D., former Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern has been a member of Dáil Éireann (the Irish House of Representatives) since 1977. He held Ministerial office in the governments of Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds, as Minister for Labour (1987–1991) and Minister for Finance (1991–1994), before being elected the sixth leader of the Fianna Fáil party in 1994. Three years later, in June 1997, he became Ireland's youngest ever Taoiseach. He retired as Taoiseach in May 2008 having enjoyed the unique distinction in modern Irish politics of being the first person in over sixty years to have been elected to that office on three successive occasions. He continues to serve as a member of Dáil Éireann.
The defining moment of his career was the successful negotiation by Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair of the Good Friday Agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland in April 1998. On the wider world stage during his Presidency of the European Council from January 2004 to June 2004 Bertie Ahern presided over the historic enlargement of the European Union to 27 member states including eight countries from Eastern Europe. He led Ireland to take leadership roles on key global issues such as increasing aid to developing countries and tackling the spread of HIV AIDS.
Bertie Ahern's achievements as a leader at home and abroad have been recognised internationally. He has been conferred with honorary degrees by several universities and is one of only five people to enjoy the great distinction of having been invited to address both the Houses of Parliament at Westminster and the Houses of Congress of the United States in Washington D.C.
Deputy Ahern was guest speaker at the INBA dinner at at the Hotel de l'Europe, Amsterdam on Tuesday, 20 October 2009.
|
