20 Facts About Katherine Zappone

Katherine Zappone is an American-Irish independent politician who served as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from May 2016 to June 2020.

Katherine Zappone was a Teachta Dala for the Dublin South-West constituency from 2016 to 2020.

Katherine Zappone previously served as a Senator from 2011 to 2016, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.

Katherine Zappone was nominated by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the 24th Seanad in 2011, having been recommended by Eamon Gilmore, the then leader of Fine Gael's coalition partners, the Labour Party.

Katherine Zappone was elected to the Dail for the Dublin South-West constituency at the 2016 general election, becoming the first openly lesbian TD and, by her own reckoning, the world's 32nd lesbian to be elected to a national parliament.

In May 2016, after a delay in government formation, due to prolonged talks, Zappone became Ireland's first openly lesbian government minister and the first minister to have been openly gay at the time of appointment to cabinet, when Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed her as the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Katherine Zappone lost her seat at the 2020 general election and continued to serve as a minister until the formation of a new government in June 2020.

Katherine Zappone was a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission, chief executive of the National Women's Council of Ireland, and a lecturer in the fields of ethics, theology, and education at Trinity College Dublin.

Katherine Zappone said "either the Government analyses of these problems are wrong or incomplete or the political ideologies that direct its solutions are insipid, vacuous of original vision, or simply outdated".

Katherine Zappone began working on amendments to the Gender Recognition Bill.

Katherine Zappone stated that "the Tallaght Garda District must receive its fair share of new recruits and vehicles being made available to the force in the coming weeks".

Katherine Zappone was a prominent campaigner for the Yes campaign in Ireland's marriage equality referendum, featuring on an RTE Primetime debate, helping YesEquality as a voluntary adviser, taking part in debates, and campaigning for a Yes vote.

On 23 May 2015, Katherine Zappone asked her wife Ann Louise Gilligan live on air to remarry her in Ireland now that it had voted yes to marriage equality.

Katherine Zappone described how she was "feeling emotional from the top all the way down to my toes".

In June 2015, Katherine Zappone announced she would contest the next general election as an Independent candidate in the Dublin South-West constituency.

Katherine Zappone was the final candidate elected to the Dail for the Dublin South-West constituency in the 2016 general election, following a full recount.

Katherine Zappone had said that she believed the Eighth Amendment should be repealed, and that abortion should be available in Ireland.

Katherine Zappone was initially the only member of cabinet to have unequivocally spoken out in favour of repeal of the Eighth and legalisation of abortion, arguing that the Eighth Amendment "oppresses us with the burden of choicelessness", and that "as long as the Constitution treats a foetus as equal to a woman, her autonomy can be nothing more than a myth".

In July 2021, it was announced that Katherine Zappone was to be appointed to the newly created position of "Special Envoy to the UN for Freedom of Opinion and Expression".

Katherine Zappone was an independent candidate for the Dublin University constituency at the 2025 Seanad election, but was not elected.