Cowen: shortest serving FF taoiseach

BRIAN COWEN will today clinch the record for the shortest-serving Fianna Fáil taoiseach.

He will step aside as leader of the country after 1,036 days in office — just two days shorter than the current record.

That position until now has been held by former Fianna Fáil taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who served 1,038 days in office between February 11, 1992, and December 15, 1994.

While other Fianna Fáil taoisigh have served shorter individual periods such as Charles Haughey, Jack Lynch and even Éamon de Valera, their cumulative days served over multiple terms in office stretch much further than 1,038 days.

Had Mr Cowen’s original choice of March 11 as an election date gone ahead, the extra days needed to count or recount votes, plus the additional days expected to negotiate a government between winning parties prior to Mr Cowen officially leaving office, would have seen him safely slip past the short-term reign record.

But his concession for an earlier election means he will have been in office as Taoiseach exactly 1,036 days, between May 7, 2008, and March 9, 2011.

The Constitution says that a Taoiseach remains as Taoiseach until he or she is replaced. The Fianna Fáil Cabinet of the 30th Dáil met for the last time in government buildings yesterday with Mr Cowen putting his last signature to official documents.