Dublin - Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern handed in his
resignation to President Mary McAleese Tuesday evening, marking the
end of 11 years at the helm of Irish politics.
Ahern announced his resignation at the beginning of April amid
questions about his personal finances.
He promised at the time that he would honour two outstanding
official duties: an address to both houses of the US Congress, which
he made on April 30, and the opening of a historic battle site with
Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley, which he carried out
earlier Tuesday.
Ahern has been lauded on both sides of the Atlantic for his
crucial role in delivering peace to Northern Ireland, where a power-
sharing executive between rival Irish nationalists and British
unionists ended decades of sectarian conflict one year ago.
'After so many decades of conflict, I am so proud ... to be the
first Irish leader to inform the United States Congress: Ireland is
at peace,' Ahern said during his address to Congress last week.
Ahern also presided over the most prosperous period in Irish
history, which saw the small republic of just over 4 million people
rise to one of the wealthiest in the European Union from being among
the poorest.
However, he departs from the prime minister's office under a cloud
of suspicion.
For over a year now Ahern has been plagued by the investigation
into his personal finances under a tribunal set up by his government
in 1997 to look into planning irregularities.
Ahern has admitted receiving money but says the cash represented
political donations or money from his friends to help with legal
bills after his marital separation.
He has always denied doing political favours in return for cash
and no evidence has emerged to contradict this.
Ahern said he looks forward to defending his reputation at the
tribunal and expressed confidence that 'the tribunal will find that I
have not acted improperly in anyway.'
The current finance minister and leader of the ruling Fianna Fail
party, Brian Cowen, was due to be confirmed as the new prime minister
in a parliamentary session on Wednesday afternoon.
USA
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