1. Simon Coveney was born on 16 June 1972 and is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2022 to 2024.
44 Facts About Simon Coveney
1. 2.
Simon Coveney served as deputy leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024.
3.
Simon Coveney has been in the cabinet since 2011, holding a range of ministerial portfolios, including as Tanaiste from 2017 to 2020.
4.
Simon Coveney served as a Teachta Dala for the Cork South-Central constituency from 1998 to 2024, having been elected in a by-election following the death of his father Hugh Coveney.
5.
Simon Coveney served as a Member of the European Parliament for the South constituency from 2004 to 2007.
6.
Simon Coveney's father was a chartered quantity surveyor and later a TD, and a member of one of the famous merchant families in the city.
7.
Simon Coveney was educated locally in Cork, before later attending Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare.
8.
Simon Coveney was expelled from the college in Transition Year but ultimately was invited back to complete his full six years there.
9.
Simon Coveney repeated his Leaving Certificate in Bruce College in Cork.
10.
Simon Coveney subsequently attended University College Cork and Gurteen Agricultural College, before completing a BSc in Agriculture and Land Management from Royal Agricultural College, Gloucestershire.
11.
Simon Coveney spent several years working as an agriculture adviser and farm manager.
12.
Simon Coveney was elected to the 28th Dail as a Fine Gael candidate for Cork South-Central in a by-election, caused by the death of his father in 1998.
13.
In 2001, discipline in the parliamentary party broke down and Simon Coveney came out against Bruton in a leadership heave.
14.
Simon Coveney's loss of support was a surprise and encouraged others to vote against Bruton.
15.
Simon Coveney was elected to the European Parliament for the South constituency at the 2004 European Parliament election.
16.
Simon Coveney spearheaded the Stop the Traffic campaign at the European Parliament.
17.
Simon Coveney was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Delegation for Relations with the United States and a substitute on the Human Rights Subcommittee, Fisheries Committee, Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and the Delegation for Relations with Iran.
18.
Simon Coveney was successful in being returned to the Dail, and as a result, was required to step down as an MEP.
19.
Simon Coveney was replaced in the European Parliament by Colm Burke.
20.
Simon Coveney returned to the party's front bench as Spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
21.
Simon Coveney was re-appointed to the front bench as Spokesperson on Transport.
22.
On 9 March 2011, Simon Coveney was appointed as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
23.
Simon Coveney attended his first meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers, in Brussels on 17 March 2011.
24.
In May 2014, Simon Coveney attended a meeting of the Bilderberg Group, in Copenhagen.
25.
On 11 July 2014, in a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of Eamon Gilmore as Tanaiste, Simon Coveney was given an additional appointment as Minister for Defence.
26.
On 17 June 2015, Simon Coveney questioned the judgment of an experienced Air Corps pilot who refused to fly him to Cork, because of predicted fog.
27.
On 6 May 2016, Simon Coveney was appointed as the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny taking over the Defence portfolio and Michael Creed becoming the new Minister for Agriculture.
28.
Simon Coveney succeeded Charles Flanagan, who became Minister for Justice and Equality.
29.
Simon Coveney has expressed concern that the bill might contravene EU trade law.
30.
In July 2020, following the formation of a coalition government of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party, Simon Coveney was re-appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
31.
On 25 March 2022, Simon Coveney was giving a speech in Belfast when he forced to leave the stage, following the discovery of a "suspect device" in a hjacked van in the carpark.
32.
Simon Coveney had been speaking following a meeting with the John and Pat Hume Foundation.
33.
Simon Coveney was accompanied by a political adviser and a protection team.
34.
On 20 May 2022, Simon Coveney took over from Luigi Di Maio as chairman of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.
35.
Simon Coveney said the backstop was already a pragmatic compromise between the United Kingdom and the European Union to avoid infrastructure on the Irish border, that there was no sensible legally-sound alternative to the backstop, and that the European Parliament would not ratify a Brexit withdrawal agreement without the backstop in it.
36.
Simon Coveney added that people should think carefully about unnecessary public gatherings and urged the public to play their part and help themselves by following advice and doing practical things like sneezing and washing hands properly.
37.
In July 2021, Simon Coveney found himself embroiled in a political scandal relating to the appointment of former Independent TD Katherine Zappone, who had served in cabinet with Simon Coveney, as a special envoy to the UN.
38.
Subsequently, it emerged that Simon Coveney had not advertised or offered the role to anyone but Zappone, and that in the run-up to the appointment, Zappone had hosted an event at the Merrion Hotel in breach of COVID-19 regulations at which members of the political establishment were present, including Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.
39.
Simon Coveney gave a number of reasons for deleting the texts, including that he had deleted them for more storage space, and for security reasons as his phone had previously been "hacked".
40.
Simon Coveney's explanations were criticised by many members of the Dail, including by members of government coalition members Fianna Fail.
41.
Simon Coveney survived the motion 92 votes to 59, with the support of the government parties, while Independent TDs generally sided with the government on the vote as well.
42.
On 17 December 2022, Varadkar succeeded Martin as Taoiseach, with Martin becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Simon Coveney was appointed Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
43.
On 10 July 2024, Simon Coveney announced that he would not contest the next general election.
44.
Simon Coveney married his long-time girlfriend Ruth Furney, an IDA Ireland employee, in July 2008.