Mary Mcaleese

On 11th November, 1997, Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland. She took over leadership of the country from Mary Robinson. In 2008, she was ranked #74 on the Forbes list of most powerful women in the world.Mary McAleese was re-elected on Friday 1st October 2004 being the only validly-nominated candidate. She is a barrister and former Professor of Law. Born on June 27th 1951 in Belfast, she is the first President to come from Northern Ireland. She is married, since 1976, to Dr. Martin McAleese, an accountant and dentist. They have three children, Emma, born 1982 and twins Justin and SaraMai, born 1985.