Michael D. Higgins
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His Excellency Michael D. Higgins Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn |
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| 9th President of Ireland | |
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Assumed office 11 November 2011 |
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| Taoiseach | Enda Kenny |
| Preceded by | Mary McAleese |
| Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht | |
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In office 15 December 1994 – 26 June 1997 |
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| Taoiseach | John Bruton |
| Preceded by | Bertie Ahern |
| Succeeded by | Síle de Valera |
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In office 12 January 1993 – 17 November 1994 |
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| Taoiseach | Albert Reynolds |
| Preceded by | John Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Bertie Ahern |
| Teachta Dála | |
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In office February 1987 – February 2011 |
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In office June 1981 – February 1982 |
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| Constituency | Galway West |
| Senator | |
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In office 23 February 1983 – 3 April 1987 |
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| Constituency | National University of Ireland |
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In office 1 June 1973 – 26 May 1977 |
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| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Michael Daniel Higgins 18 April 1941 Limerick City, Limerick, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Independent (2011–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Fianna Fáil (Before 1968) Labour Party (1968–2011) |
| Spouse(s) | Sabina Coyne |
| Children |
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| Residence | Áras an Uachtaráin |
| Alma mater | |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Website | president |
Michael Daniel Higgins (Irish: Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn; born 18 April 1941) is the ninth and current President of Ireland, in office since 11 November 2011.
Higgins is a politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency and was Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997. He was the President of the Labour Party from 2003 until 2011, when he resigned following his election as President of Ireland.
He made the first state visit by an Irish president to the United Kingdom in April 2014.
Higgins was born in Limerick on 18 April 1941. His father John Higgins was from Ballycar, County Clare, and was a Lieutenant with the Charleville Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. John Higgins, along with his two brothers Peter and Michael, had been active participants in the Irish War of Independence.
When his father's health grew poor, with alcohol a contributing factor, his mother sent Higgins, aged five, and his four-year-old brother to live on his unmarried uncle and aunt's farm near Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare. His older twin sisters remained in Limerick. He was educated at Ballycar National School, County Clare, and St. Flannan's College, Ennis.
As an undergraduate at University College, Galway (UCG), he served as Vice-Auditor of the College's Literary and Debating Society in 1963–64, and rose to the position of Auditor in the 1964–65 academic year. He also served as President of UCG Students' Union in 1964–65. In 1967, Higgins graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a Master of Arts degree in Sociology. He also briefly attended the University of Manchester.
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