Pat Rabbitte

Pat Rabbitte (born June 18, 1949) is a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1989 as a Workers' Party TD. Since 2002 he has been leader of the Labour Party.

Pat Rabbitte was born on June 18, 1949 in County Mayo. He was educated at St. Colman's College, Claremorris and University College Galway. He was elected President of the Students' Union in the university in 1970. Between 1972 and 1974 he achieved national attention when he served as President of the Union of Students in Ireland. In 1974 he became an official in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), becoming National Secretary for the union in 1980.

In 1989 Rabbitte was elected to Dáil Éireann as Workers' Party TD for Dublin South-West. He has retained his seat at every election since as a Workers' Party, then Democratic Left and now Labour Party deputy. During the Rainbow Coalition, between 1994 and 1997, he served as Minister of State to the Government and Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

In 2002 Rabbitte became the new leader of the Labour Party.