Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen
Cowen in June 2010
12th Taoiseach
In office 7 May 2008 – 9 March 2011
President	Mary McAleese
Tánaiste	Mary Coughlan
Preceded by	Bertie Ahern
Succeeded by	Enda Kenny
Leader of Fianna Fáil
In office 7 May 2008 – 26 January 2011[nb]
Deputy	Mary Coughlan
Preceded by	Bertie Ahern
Succeeded by	Micheál Martin
Other offices Minister for Foreign Affairs Acting 19 January 2011 – 9 March 2011 Taoiseach Himself Preceded by Micheál Martin Succeeded by Eamon Gilmore In office 27 January 2000 – 29 September 2004 Taoiseach Bertie Ahern Preceded by David Andrews Succeeded by Dermot Ahern Tánaiste In office 14 June 2007 – 7 May 2008 Taoiseach Bertie Ahern Preceded by Michael McDowell Succeeded by Mary Coughlan Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil In office 28 July 2002 – 7 May 2008 Leader Bertie Ahern Preceded by Mary O'Rourke Succeeded by Mary Coughlan Minister for Finance In office 29 September 2004 – 7 May 2008 Taoiseach Bertie Ahern Preceded by Charlie McCreevy Succeeded by Brian Lenihan Minister for Health and Children In office 26 June 1997 – 27 January 2000 Taoiseach Bertie Ahern Preceded by Michael Noonan Succeeded by Micheál Martin Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications In office 22 January 1993 – 15 December 1994 Taoiseach Albert Reynolds Preceded by Charlie McCreevy Succeeded by Michael Lowry Minister for Energy In office 12 January 1993 – 22 January 1993 Taoiseach Albert Reynolds Preceded by Albert Reynolds Succeeded by Charlie McCreevy Minister for Labour In office 11 February 1992 – 12 January 1993 Taoiseach Albert Reynolds Preceded by Michael O'Kennedy Succeeded by Mervyn Taylor
Teachta Dála
In office June 1984 – February 2011
Constituency	Laois–Offaly
Personal details
Born	(1960-01-10) 10 January 1960 (age 64) Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Mary Molloy ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	2
Parent	Bernard Cowen (father)
Relatives	Barry Cowen (brother)
Education	Cistercian College, Roscrea
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Signature
n.b. ^ Acting: 22 – 26 January 2011

Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in a number of ministerial roles between 1992 and 2011, including as Minister for Finance from 2004 to 2008 and Tánaiste from 2007 to 2008.^[1]

Cowen was elected leader of Fianna Fáil in May 2008, upon the resignation of Bertie Ahern, and was nominated by Dáil Éireann to replace him as Taoiseach. Weeks after taking office, his administration faced the Irish financial and banking crises. He received substantial criticism for his failure to stem the tide of either crisis, ultimately culminating in the Irish Government's formal request for financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which was widely regarded in Ireland as a national humiliation.^[2]

His leadership subsequently saw public support for Fianna Fáil plunge to record lows, and Cowen set a record for the lowest approval rating in the history of Irish opinion polling, at one point reaching an approval rating of 8 per cent.^[3] In January 2011, following a failed attempt at a cabinet reshuffle, and facing growing political pressure, Cowen resigned as Leader of Fianna Fáil, but remained as Taoiseach until after the general election held the following month where Cowen left politics and officially resigned as Taoiseach and left office a fortnight later.^[4][5]

The Sunday Times described Cowen's tenure as Taoiseach as "a dismal failure".^[6] In 2011, the Irish Independent called Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State".^[7]