page_title: Enda Kenny
section_title: 2011
hierarchical_section_title: Enda Kenny / Career / 13th Taoiseach (2011–2017) / 2011
caption_attribution_description: English: United States President Barack Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny hold a bilateral meeting in the Dining Room at Farmleigh in Dublin, Ireland on 23 May 2011.
context_page_description: Enda Kenny is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May 2014 to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2011, Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997 and Minister of State for Youth Affairs from 1986 to 1987. He served as Teachta Dála for Mayo West from 1975 to 1997 and for Mayo from 1997 to 2020.
  Kenny led Fine Gael to a historic victory at the 2011 general election, his party becoming the largest in the state for the first time, forming a coalition government with the Labour Party on 9 March 2011. He subsequently became the first Fine Gael member to be elected Taoiseach for a second consecutive term on 6 May 2016, after two months of negotiations, following the 2016 election, forming a Fine Gael-led minority government. He was the first Taoiseach from Fine Gael since John Bruton, and the first Leader of Fine Gael to win a general election since Garret FitzGerald in 1982. He became the longest-serving Fine Gael Taoiseach in April 2017.
context_section_description: The members of the 31st Dáil convened for the first time on 9 March 2011, the Dáil elected Kenny as Taoiseach by a vote of 117–27. Kenny received his seal of office from President Mary McAleese. He also announced ministerial appointees to his Government on 9 March 2011. At just under 59 years and 11 months on accession, Kenny is the second-oldest person to have assumed the office for the first time, the oldest being Seán Lemass.
  On 9 March 2011, Kenny appointed 15 junior Ministers. He also appointed a Minister for political reform, and sent a request to the Office of Public Works as to how he could address ministerial transport. On 15 March 2011, it was announced that only the current President, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice and Equality were to have Garda drivers. All other Ministers would have to make use of their own transport with a mileage allowance and a commercial chauffeur as an expense. There was no announcement as to the continuing engagement of three government jets. The media reported that this would reduce the ministerial motor vehicle transport bill to €7,000,000 annually, which is more than the combined annual tax contributions of 16,000 people on minimum wage.
caption: Kenny with US President Barack Obama, 23 May 2011
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