Mary Harney is an Irish former politician and the current Chancellor of the University of Limerick.
She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming her role in 2007 after her successor, Michael McDowell, lost his seat at the 2007 general election. She is the longest-ever serving female member of Dáil Éireann, serving as a member Teachta Dála for the Dublin South-West and Dublin Mid-West constituencies from 1981 to 2011.
She was Ireland's first female Tánaiste from 1997 to 2006 and the first woman to lead a party in Dáil Éireann.