Alex White (politician)

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For other people named Alex White, see Alex White (disambiguation).
Alex White
Alex White TD 2014 (cropped).jpg
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
In office
11 July 2014 – 6 May 2016
Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Preceded by Pat Rabbitte
Succeeded by Denis Naughten
Minister of State for Primary Care
In office
27 September 2012 – 11 July 2014
Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Preceded by Róisín Shortall
Succeeded by Kathleen Lynch
Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad
In office
13 September 2007 – 8 March 2011
Leader Eamon Gilmore
Preceded by Brendan Ryan
Succeeded by Phil Prendergast (acting)
Teachta Dála
In office
February 2011 – February 2016
Constituency Dublin South
Senator
In office
July 2007 – February 2011
Constituency Cultural and Educational Panel
Personal details
Born (1958-12-03) 3 December 1958 (age 66)
Dublin, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Political party Labour Party
Spouse(s) Mary Corcoran
Children 2
Alma mater Trinity College, Dublin
Website www.alexwhite.ie

Alex White (born 3 December 1958) is an Irish senior counsel, Labour Party politician, and former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.[1] He was elected at the 2011 general election as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South, having previously been member of Seanad Éireann, elected by the Cultural and Educational Panel in 2007.[2] He lost his Dáil seat in 2016.

Early life

White grew up in Marino, Dublin. He was educated at Chanel College Coolock, Trinity College, Dublin, and the King's Inns. He was called to the Bar in 1987.[3]

White was a student activist in Trinity College, Dublin, where he was president of the Students' Union and also for a time a supporter of various Trotskyist groupings, including the League for a Workers Republic.[4] He was later a national officer of the Union of Students in Ireland. During his time as a producer with RTÉ he was active in the SIPTU trade union. In common with Mary McAleese he was attacked and criticised by a group led by Eoghan Harris and associated with the Workers' Party over what they perceived as their bias towards Republican groups in the North.[5] White was a strong opponent of Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, which prevented Sinn Féin members from being heard.

Political career

He was first elected to South Dublin County Council in 2004, for the Terenure-Rathfarnham electoral area. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2007 general election in the Dublin South constituency.[6]

White was nominated as a general election candidate in 2007 by the Labour Party leadership. He had voted for coalition with Fine Gael in a Labour Party congress (the line of Pat Rabbitte, then leader of the party). His election to the Senate was due to a voting pact with Sinn Féin.[7]

He was the Labour Party candidate in the 2009 by-election in Dublin South.[8] He came second behind the former RTÉ economics editor George Lee.[6] White was his party's Seanad group leader and national spokesperson on children between 2007 and February 2011, when he was elected to the Dáil. He subsequently was appointed as chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.[9]

White was leader of an Oireachtas delegation that met the Bundestag's Budgetary and European Affairs committees in Berlin in late January 2012.[10]

White was formally nominated for the position of Minister of State for Primary Care by Eamon Gilmore, on 27 September 2012, following the resignation of Róisín Shortall.[11]

Following the resignation of Eamon Gilmore as Leader of the Labour Party in the aftermath of Labour's poor result at the local and European elections, White announced his candidacy for the party leadership. On 4 July 2014, Joan Burton was elected as Labour Party leader, defeating White by 77% to 22%.[12]

On 11 July 2014, he was appointed Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in a cabinet reshuffle.[13]

White lost his seat at the 2016 general election.[6] He remained Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in an acting capacity during prolonged talks on government formation, earning €13,515 in that time.[14]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0711/629951-cabinet/
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Oireachtas
Preceded by Labour Party Teachta Dála for Dublin South
2011–2016		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State for Primary Care
2012–2014		 Succeeded by
Kathleen Lynch
Preceded by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
2014–2016		 Succeeded by
Denis Naughten
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