Ireland's opposition leader, Micheal Martin, will be elected as Irish prime minister today. So who is the new head of the Irish government, and what makes him tick?
He was first elected to the Dail in 1989 and served as a cabinet minister in the Fianna Fail governments of Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen between 1997 and 2011.
Tall and rangy, Mr Martin likes to take care of his health, and is well-known for choosing a breakfast of muesli and fruit in the Dail restaurant, in stark contrast to the traditional fry-ups enjoyed by many other members. One of his proudest moments in politics came in 2004, when as minister for health he introduced Ireland's workplace smoking ban, a European first.
"I think this government will be judged on one thing and one thing alone, and that's delivery," he told Sky News."There will be no forgiveness if there won't be delivery [on key issues]. He will be judged as taoiseach if he delivers change, if he delivers the quality of life that's contained in the Programme for Government."
He also had to apologise that year for using the broken English words"You Irish very good at software" in a Chinese accent when recounting a trade mission to China. The controversy quickly blew over.
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