The former Fine Gael leader Mr Alan Dukes, who lost his Dáil seat at the General Election, has announced he is withdrawing from politics.
Mr Dukes, 57, lost his seat in Kildare South after 20 years in public life. He succeeded former Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald as party leader in 1987, but resigned three years later, to be replaced by Mr John Bruton.
Mr Dukes said today he would not be contesting any future elections, but planned to move into consultancy work on questions relating to European Union and economic policy.