Síle de Valera in 2007. De Valera resigned briefly from Fianna Fáil in 1993, due to the removal of the 'stopover' at Shannon Airport. She was persuaded to rejoin the party in 1994 by its new leader, Bertie Ahern; he then appointed her to the opposition front bench. In 1997, she became Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. She lost her place in the cabinet in 2002, but took office as a Minister of State. Her government office was Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, with special responsibility for Adult Education, Youth Affairs and Educational Disadvantage. On
South West Party South West Party The South West Party (in Afrikaans: "Suidwes Party", in German: "Südwestpartei") was a political party in South West Africa, today Namibia. Initially the party was known as Union Party ("Unie Party" in Afrikaans). The party was founded in Windhoek in September 1924 by F. van der Heever, A.P. Olivier, and Andries de Wet. It took the name SWP in 1926. In 1926, the SWP created a pact with the National Party of South West Africa, against the German League in South West Africa (, DBSW). The party contested four seats in the 1926 legislative elections, winning in