John Gormley was born on 4 August 1959 and is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1994 to 1995.
28 Facts About John Gormley
2.
John Gormley served as a Teachta Dala for the Dublin South-East constituency from 1997 to 2011.
3.
John Gormley has held many positions in the Green Party including campaign director for the successful anti-smog campaign in the 1980s.
4.
John Gormley contested his first general election in 1989, in the Dublin South-East constituency, but was not elected.
5.
John Gormley unsuccessfully contested the 1989 Seanad election and 1992 general election.
6.
John Gormley was the first Lord Mayor to launch Dublin Gay Pride week in 1995, although his predecessor, Tomas Mac Giolla had met with participants in the March in the previous year.
7.
John Gormley helped with the introduction of Sli na Slainte, a network of signposted walks for those seeking exercise to combat heart disease.
8.
John Gormley welcomed Prince Charles to the Mansion House.
9.
John Gormley subsequently met with protestors against the visit of Charles and agreed to visit the site of the Bloody Sunday Memorial in Derry.
10.
John Gormley was the first elected representative in Ireland to have an email address, and when launching a new Irish web site, the virtual Irish pub he predicted the massive growth of the internet.
11.
John Gormley retained his seat at the 2002 general election, increasing his vote and taking the first seat in his constituency, though McDowell gained the most number of first preferences.
12.
In 2002, the business of the Dail was suspended in uproar when John Gormley insisted on getting an answer to his question regarding a tax on plastic bags.
13.
John Gormley retained his seat at the 2002 general election, increasing his vote and taking the first seat in his constituency, though McDowell gained the most number of first preferences.
14.
John Gormley proposed some of the major changes to the party structures such as the name change ; the need to have a party leader was suggested by Sargent.
15.
John Gormley repeatedly requested McDowell to admit that the accompanying pamphlet on the matter was awash with lies.
16.
John Gormley was re-elected at the 2007 general election, beating McDowell for the last seat by 304 votes.
17.
John Gormley stated that he was unable for legal reasons to reverse this order.
18.
John Gormley appointed a long-standing critic of the M3 route, Dr Conor Newman of NUIG, to oversee the archaeological work as part of a special committee on the Lismullen site.
19.
In 2009, the Tara-Skryne Valley was designated Ireland's first Landscape Conservation Area by John Gormley, prohibiting shopping malls and retail parks from being constructed in the area.
20.
On 6 March 2008, John Gormley established a Referendum Commission for the first referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon.
21.
In July 2008, changes to VRT and road tax which John Gormley had brought about the previous year.
22.
John Gormley introduced a "Bike Scheme" in January 2009, which promoted cycling to work by offering tax incentives to employees and employers who purchased bicycles and switched to cycling.
23.
In July 2009, John Gormley introduced Non Principal Private Residence tax, a tax on second homes and holiday homes, many of which were owned by people working abroad.
24.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke eventually ruled on the case in November 2010, finding that Minister John Gormley had exceeded his powers by ordering the council to change its decision.
25.
John Gormley resigned as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Governmenton on 23 January 2011, when the Green Party withdrew from government.
26.
John Gormley lost his seat at the 2011 general election on 25 February 2011.
27.
John Gormley announced in an email to Green Party members on 20 March 2011, that he would not be seeking re-election as leader of the party.
28.
John Gormley was succeeded as party leader by Eamon Ryan on 27 May 2011.