Mary McAleese Biography

Mary Patricia McAleese (/mækəˈliːs/; née Leneghan; Irish: Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish Fianna Fáil and Independent politician who served as the 8th President of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She was the second female President of Ireland. She was first elected in 1997, succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as President. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in office in 2004. McAleese is the first President of Ireland to have come from either Northern Ireland or Ulster.