Leading Green reformer John Gormley now has to deliver on two fronts, writes Miriam Donohoe.
John Gormley is not used to winning elections with plenty to spare and his closer than expected victory in the Green Party leadership contest yesterday suggests he will have a job to ease concern in the party over its decision to go into government with Fianna Fáil.
Despite his own warnings to journalists and to party members on his blog this week not to take the result for granted, it was a contest he was never going to lose given the huge support Green Party members gave in the Mansion House just over a month ago to the party's entry into coalition, a move wholeheartedly supported by Gormley himself.
It has been a roller-coaster few weeks for the new Minister for the Environment who saw his fellow challenger in the leadership contest, Patricia McKenna, win over 35 per cent of the vote.
Less than two months ago Gormley faced a battle to be returned to the Dáil. But not only did he win that fightand see off no less an opponent than Michael McDowell to hang on to his seat in the Dublin South East constituency, but today he finds himself leader of his party with a seat at Cabinet.
The 48-year-old father of two will have a lot on his hands in the coming months coping with his new ministry while at the same time getting to grips with leading the Green Party and ensuring it continues its development within government.
He will also have to spend some time getting to know and trust his new Government partners. Gormley once described Fianna Fáil as the most corrupt political party in Western Europe, has spoken scathingly of life on "planet Bertie", and two days before polling in the general election said his position was to "get an alternative government when the votes are counted".
But he has since defended the Greens' decision to go into coalition and, during the negotiations for government with Fianna Fáil, he famously declared: "Actually, we got to like them, and Brian Cowen said he got to like us."
A relative newcomer to national politics, the Minister was first elected to the Dáil in 1997 but is one of the most experienced and influential Green politicians who has been a central figure in the party for over 20 years.
He was the Green Party campaign director for the successful anti-smog campaign in the 1980s and has been party chairman since 2002 when the post was first created. He was re-elected to that position in late 2004 with 80 per cent of the party vote.
During his leadership campaign he said he wanted the party's ruling national council feeding policy ideas into Green Ministers and is determined that all in the party feel "part of this project".
He is determined that being a Minister will not distract him from the job of leading the party and has already had meetings with advisers about how best he can maintain contact with the party grassroots while sitting at Cabinet and performing his demanding duties as Minister for the Environment.
He has been the driver of reform in the party in the past, proposing some of the major changes to the party structures such as changing the name from the Green Alliance to the Green Party. He was also one of those who promoted the creation of the position of party leader, which was filled by Trevor Sargent.
Party insiders expect him to have a more dynamic style than Sargent and to be more open to reform and change. The fact that he is a man not afraid to meet a challenge head-on was reflected during his very public challenging of Michael McDowell during the election campaign at the Ranelagh triangle.
One of his key focuses will be the local elections in two years' time and Gormley is keen on bringing in candidates in parts of the country where the party hopes to win a Dáil seat in five years' time.
Currently the party only has one seat outside of Dublin, Mary White in Carlow-Kilkenny.
Born in Dublin, he was educated in St Munchin's College, Limerick, and University College Dublin. It was while studying at Freiburg University in Germany in the 1980s that he came into contact with the emerging Green movement. He spent a lot of time in Berlin while Germany was divided and still holds a great affection for that country.
When he returned to Ireland the Minister opened a language school in Dublin and joined the Green party a year after it was established here. He failed in his first Dáil attempt in 1989 but was elected to Dublin City Council in 1991 and was Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1994-1995.
His entry to national politics in 1997 was dramatic and followed a marathon week-long recount with Michael McDowell, which he won by just 27 votes. Mr Gormley retained his seat in the 2002 general election and beat Mr McDowell for the last seat by 304 votes in May. Ironically, he now sees himself at Cabinet and leader of his party, while Mr McDowell resigned as leader of the PDs after his defeat and has retired from politics.
Cycling is still the Minister's favourite mode of transport and his new Garda drivers are finding themselves a little redundant with the Minister insisting on cycling to work every day. He does it for personal enjoyment and fitness as well as the fact its as a green mode of transport.
His commitment to cycling was seen recently when he cycled from his home, a modest terraced house in Ringsend, to RTÉ for an interview on Radio One's Morning Ireland and later that day cycled from the department to Abbey Street for an interview with Matt Cooper on Today FM.
He lives with his wife, Penny, and two children Ellen (9) and Sean (8) and the family eat organic food and try to live a green lifestyle as much as possible.
In a recent interview he said he hasn't got the solar panels in his house yet as there's a problem with the roof "but we're tackling that".
Hours before his formal announcement as Minister for the Environment, department officials were busy putting long-lasting bulbs in the Customs House and while the Minister has acknowledged that effort he has told officials that there is still a lot to be done in the building.