20 Facts About Conor Lenihan

Conor Lenihan was born on 3 March 1963 and is an Irish former Fianna Fail politician who served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011.

Conor Lenihan served as a Teachta Dala for the Dublin South-West constituency from 1997 to 2011.

Conor Lenihan lived in Athlone until he was 11 years of age.

Conor Lenihan was educated at Belvedere College, University College Dublin, Dublin City University and the INSEAD.

Conor Lenihan worked as a senior executive with O2, an Irish-owned mobile operator, and subsequently worked as an advisor for the company.

Conor Lenihan is the son of former Tanaiste, TD and Minister Brian Conor Lenihan.

Conor Lenihan's aunt, Mary O'Rourke, is a former TD, Senator and Minister, while his brother, Brian Lenihan Jnr was a TD and Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011 during the Irish economic downturn.

Conor Lenihan was the editor of The Nation, the official publication of the Fianna Fail party.

Conor Lenihan was first elected to the Dail at the 1997 general election.

Conor Lenihan restructured Ireland's international aid programme, creating Irish Aid, the Irish Government's programme of assistance to developing countries.

Conor Lenihan led a government initiative to deal with large volume immigration into Ireland which culminated with the publication of a new policy statement "Migration Nation".

Conor Lenihan was reappointed in this role when Brian Cowen succeeded as Taoiseach in May 2008.

Conor Lenihan created a single budget line for science and technology funding as well as participating in the country's Innovation Task Force.

Conor Lenihan was a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Recovery.

Conor Lenihan placed eighth in the poll and was eliminated on the fourth count.

In October 2018, Conor Lenihan announced his intention to seek the Fianna Fail nomination for the Dublin constituency in the 2019 European Parliament elections.

At the party candidate selection meeting in February 2019 Conor Lenihan placed fourth out of four candidates with 108 votes of the 838 ballots cast.

Conor Lenihan was involved in some controversy on 18 May 2005, when off-microphone he told opposition TD Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party that he should "stick to [helping] the kebabs", a reference to the Turkish workers who were making a legal challenge against their employer, GAMA.

In September 2010, Lenihan attracted controversy when it emerged that he was to attend the launch of The Origin of Specious Nonsense, an anti-evolution book by John J May.

In July 2011, Conor Lenihan joined Skolkovo Foundation, a planned scientific and innovation centre outside Moscow, Russia.