In November 1990, Mary Robinson defeated Brian Lenihan to become the first female President of which country?
Mary Robinson Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (née Bourke; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish Independent politician who served as the seventh President of Ireland, becoming the first woman to hold this office. She also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002 and a Senator for the University of Dublin from 1969 to 1989. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister and campaigner. She defeated Fianna Fáil's Brian Lenihan and Fine Gael's Austin Currie, in the 1990 presidential election, becoming the first Independent candidate nominated by the Labour Party, the Workers'
Brian Lenihan Snr to the media suggested that Lenihan was considering seeking the Fianna Fáil nomination in the 1990 Irish presidential election, which was due in November 1990. Speculation abounded that this was part of a plan to discourage other parties from running candidates in the belief that Lenihan would prove unbeatable and so get the office unopposed. Labour Party leader Dick Spring indicated that Labour would run a candidate for the presidency, even if he had to stand himself. Ultimately, Labour chose former Senator Mary Robinson as its candidate. Lenihan was generally perceived as an unbeatable candidate, though he did receive a