Terry Leyden (born 1 October 1945) is an Irish former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

(elected on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

) from September 2002 to March 2020, and previously during December 1992 (after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

). He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) from 1977 to 1992, and as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from March to December 1982, and from 1987 to 1992. He was elected to

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council () is the local authority of County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban plannin ...

in 1974, and re-elected in 1979 and 1985. Leyden was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at his first attempt, in the 1977 general election, when he was returned to the

21st Dáil The 21st Dáil was elected at the 1977 Irish general election, 1977 general election on 16 June 1977 and met on 5 July 1977. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Republic of Ireland, Irel ...

as a TD for the Roscommon–Leitrim constituency. He was returned for the new

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

constituency at the 1981 general election, and re-elected a further four times before losing his seat at the 1992 general election in the new Longford–Roscommon constituency. From March to December 1982, he served as

Minister of State at the Department of Transport The Minister of State at the Department of Transport is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Transport of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Transport. A Minister of State does not hold ca ...

and

Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs () was the holder of a position in the Government of Ireland (and, earlier, in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State). From 1924 until 1984 – when it was abolished – the minister headed the Depa ...

. He then served as

Minister of State at the Department of Health The Minister of State at the Department of Health is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Health of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Health. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet ran ...

from 1987 to 1989, and as Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce from 1989 to 1992. Following his Dáil defeat he sat very briefly in the

19th Seanad The 19th Seanad was in office from 1989 to 1993. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1989 general election to the 26th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 20th Sea ...

, having been

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. He held various cabinet positions between 1979 and 1991, including Ministe ...

on 3 December 1992. After the 19th Seanad last sat on 17 December 1992 he stood unsuccessfully in the 1993 election to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

on the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Republic of Ireland, Ireland). The Administrative Panel elects seven senator ...

, and was unsuccessful again in 1997 when seeking election on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominat ...

. Leyden was re-elected to Roscommon County Council in 1999, a position that he held until the ending of the

dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...

in 2003 – because by that time he was also a Senator. Leyden was also a member of the Western Health Board from 1992 to 2002, and was chairman from 2001 to 2002. He was elected to the

22nd Seanad The 22nd Seanad was in office from 2002 to 2007. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2002 general election to the 29th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 23rd Se ...

on the

in September 2002 and re-elected in 2007, 2011 and 2016. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Children and European Affairs. In May 2010, he invoked

Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

and accused ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' columnist

Fintan O'Toole Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. He was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is Advisin ...

of incitement to riot, which O'Toole denied. This came about as a result of the latter's addressing of a demonstration against the bank bailouts proposed by the government, which later turned violent. In July 2013, he claimed that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

were "good Christians" while speaking in the Seanad. On realising the absurd nature of his comments, he apologised to the chair and admitted he was distracted. For many years, between 1992 and 2017, he was a member of the Irish delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

, headquartered in Strasbour

He was a member of the

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) () founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in Ireland." The RIAI's purpose is "to uphold the highest standards in architecture a ...

by virtue of inclusion on the "Minister's List". Prior to his inclusion on the RIAI register he was a member of the Irish Architects Society, the majority of whose members did not have formal qualifications for entry on the architect's register. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources. He retired from politics at the

2020 Seanad election An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representative ...

. In June 2024, he was appointed as an Honorary Consul for the Republic of Azerbaija

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyden, Terry 1945 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fianna Fáil TDs Members of Roscommon County Council Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 25th Seanad Ministers of state of the 23rd Dáil Ministers of state of the 25th Dáil Ministers of state of the 26th Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators Labour Panel senators