Heather Humphreys was first elected to the Dáil in 2011 on the Fine Gael wave when the party succeeded in securing three out of the five seats in Cavan-Monaghan.
She had already been a councillor and mayor of Monaghan two years earlier.
A newspaper profile of her from that general election campaign relays her own description of her approach to politics in bywords that have become hallmarks of her career.
"Common sense", "honest", "practical" and "business-like" were her own views on what she was offering.
"I know the issues. I work in the Credit Union. I'm married to a farmer. I see the issues every day. I work and live in the real world, and I'm prepared to roll up my sleeves and get on with the job," she said.
Roll on 14 years and her campaign for the presidency of Ireland is likely to major on these attributes in what Fine Gael would see as her key strengths.
From Drum, Co Monaghan, but living in Aghabog, much has been made of her Protestant background.
The 65-year-old is a Presbyterian from a border county. Her father was a member of the Orange Order and her grandfather signed the Ulster Covenant in 1912 opposing Home Rule.
She describes herself as "a proud Ulsterwoman, a Protestant and an Irish republican".
Ms Humphreys worked as general manager of Cootehill Credit Union in Co Cavan. This meant she lived in Monaghan while working across the county border giving her a voting strength in both parts of the constituency.
She sat on the backbenches for her first three years in the Dáil, one of dozens of new TDs in a resurgent Fine Gael.
But in a reshuffle in 2014, she was catapulted into the spotlight as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in a surprise elevation.
This meant she would be entrusted with the handling of the 1916 commemorations - a sensitive role for a Protestant from a border county.
"1916 belongs to everybody, and particularly the people. I want these events to be respectful and that they take account of all traditions," she said.
Ms Humphreys said that she intended to consult as widely as possible to ensure that the events to remember Easter Week 1916 were "respectful and inclusive of all traditions".
However, one immediate problem was her lack of Irish. Responsibility for the Gaeltacht was devolved to Minister of State Joe McHugh, who was also not fluent. This glaring deficiency was pounced on by Sinn Féin.
Then-taoiseach Enda Kenny promised that both would soon be fluent in conversational Irish. Yet now, several years later, she has again promised to work on her proficiency in the native language.
Just two months into her tenure in the Department of Arts, she was embroiled in a row over her appointment of businessman John McNulty to the board of IMMA at a time when he was contesting a Seanad by-election on the Cultural and Educational panel.
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The Opposition cried foul that this was a blatant attempt to boost Mr McNulty's arts credentials and the new minister was forced to defend her choice.
In the event Mr McNulty had to step down from the board after two weeks as he was contesting an election, capping the political embarrassment for Fine Gael.
Mr Kenny eventually had to apologise for the appointment in the face of fierce accusations of cronyism.
Mr McNulty withdrew from the Seanad contest but the whole affair left Ms Humphreys badly burned.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One earlier this month, she said she made a "mistake" by appointing him to the IMMA board, putting it down to being new in the job.
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On social issues, she was on the liberal wing of the party. In 2013, it was widely reported that she had a row with the conservative TD Peter Matthews at a Fine Gael meeting telling him that the abortion issue needed to be dealt with. Apparently, she was cheered "to the chandeliers" in the members' bar afterwards.
This came as the Fine-Gael-Labour government legislated for the X case, in a move which saw several Fine Gael TDs go overboard including the high-profile junior minister Lucinda Creighton.
Ms Humphreys was re-appointed to the same department after the 2016 general election and again after Leo Varadkar took over as taoiseach in 2017.
Later that year, she became Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation following the departure of Frances Fitzgerald from government.
In the 2020 government, she moved to lead two departments - Social Protection and Rural and Community Affairs.
As Minister for Social Protection, she was in command of the largest budget of any department at a time when the cost-of-living crisis moved to centre stage.
Her tenure in Rural and Community Affairs gave her a platform to travel the country bestowing grants to local groups - something that may serve her presidential campaign well.
During 2021, she was also assigned the justice portfolio while Helen McEntee was on maternity leave.
In a career where she has rarely got things wrong, one blip is the family and care referendums.
Ms Humphreys was Fine Gael's director of elections, but despite the government push, both votes failed by sizable majority.
The coalition may have run a lacklustre campaign, but there was some internal criticism that Ms Humphreys did not do a debate.
And she was accused of attempting to buy votes with a comment suggesting carers could get more in the budget if the referendum was passed.
Just a few weeks later, Mr Varadkar stepped down unexpectedly as taoiseach and Fine Gael leader.
A swift endorsement from Ms Humphreys for Simon Harris secured her the deputy leadership of the party.
In the run-up to the general election last year, she scotched speculation that she might join the exodus of Fine Gael TDs not standing.
But in October, just weeks away from the start of the campaign, she announced she would not run, declaring that she had "nothing left in the tank".
Some were annoyed that she left it so late, but in the event, the party did retain its seat in Cavan-Monaghan with new TD David Maxwell.
Since then, she maintained a relatively low profile although her name appeared in the early speculation as a potential presidential candidate.
She ruled herself out in May, but the shock departure of Mairead McGuinness propelled her to reconsider her decision with a declaration that "the tank is full again".
Ms Humphreys is running on a campaign slogan of "A President for All" with the themes of unity, community and opportunity.
She has couched her potential presidency as an opportunity for reconciliation on the island.
However, she is also the only former government representative on the ballot paper meaning she will have to account for all those decisions since 2011.
