Mairead McGuinness
Former European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Service and the Capital Markets Union,
Mairead McGuinness spans a lifetime of experience as a Politician who served the European Parliament for over 16 years. Mairead served as the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union from October 2020 to November 2024. A member of Fine Gael, she previously served as First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2020. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for East from 2004 to 2014 and for Midlands–North-West from 2014 to 2020. In the European Parliament, she sat with the European People's Party (EPP). Mairead McGuinness was the first female graduate of University College Dublin's Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural economics in 1980. In 1984, she completed a diploma in accounting and finance and followed a career in the media before entering politics in 2004. She worked as a researcher on The Late Late Show, as a presenter on RTÉ's Ear to the Ground and Celebrity Farm, a journalist with the Irish Farmers Journal and editor of the Irish Independent's farming supplement. In 2014, Mairead was awarded UCD Alumnus of the Year for Agriculture and Food Science. Mairead is married to a sheep farmer and has four children.
