Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen (born 10 January 1960) was the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. He became the Taoiseach on 7 May 2008, after Bertie Ahern, resigned after losing a general election on 9 March 2011. He was the leader of a political party called Fianna Fáil.^[1] They were in a coalition government with the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats. Independent TDs (Irish members of parliament) also support his government.

Brian Cowen
Brian 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 – 22 January 2011
Deputy	Mary Coughlan
Preceded by	Bertie Ahern
Succeeded by	Micheál Martin
Other offices Minister for Foreign Affairs In office 19 January 2011 – 9 March 2011 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 65) Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse(s)	Mary Molloy ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	2
Father	Bernard Cowen
Relatives	Barry Cowen (brother)
Education	Cistercian College, Roscrea
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Signature

During his time as Taoiseach and after leaving office, Cowen was called by multiple media outlets as the worst Taoiseach in the country's history.^[2][3]

Taoiseach

Cowen was elected leader of Fianna Fáil in May 2008, after the resignation of Bertie Ahern. Weeks after taking office as Taoiseach, his administration faced the Irish financial and banking crises. He was criticized for his failure to fix the crisis, which led the Irish Government to ask for financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This was seen in Ireland as a national humiliation.^[4]

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 percent. 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.^[5][6]

On 14 September 2010, after having an interview on RTÉ's Morning Ireland,^[7] Cowen was accused of doing the interview while drunk.^[8]

The Sunday Times called Cowen's time as Taoiseach as "a failure".^[2] In 2011, the Irish Independent called Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State".^[3]

Personal life

Brian Cowen was born to a Catholic family,^[9] in Tullamore, County Offaly,^[10] on 10 January 1960. He was raised in Clara by his parents, May and Bernard Cowen,^[11] a Fianna Fáil TD and Senator. He studied law at University College Dublin.

Cowen is married to Mary Molloy and they have two daughters.^[12][13]

Health

On 5 July 2019, Cowen was hospitalized after suffering a major brain haemorrhage. He spent five months in a hospital before transferring to a physical rehabilitation facility.^{[14][15][16][17][18]} Cowen returned home in 2021, however was left paralyzed and needed the help of a wheelchair.^[19][20]