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Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English entrepreneur, businessman and political activist. He is founder and chairman of a political party, Libertas with pan-European ambitions. The party was unsuccessful in this ambition in the 2009 European Parliament Election, succeeding in getting only one candidate elected, in France. Ganley himself was unsuccessful in this election, despite pouring large amounts of money into the campaign, securing less than 10% of the valid poll. Ganley has started companies in forestry, telecommunications and the Internet and is currently serving as chairman of the board of Rivada Networks. During the 2008 Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, Ganley and the Libertas Institute campaigned for a No vote.

Personal life

Ganley was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, of Irish parents. He returned with his parents to live in Glenamaddy, County Galway, Ireland, at the age of 13, and today lives in Abbeyknockmoy, County Galway with his American wife Delia and their four young children.

Business life

After leaving school, he initially worked on building sites in London but soon found a job as a tea boy at an insurance company. His business life started soon afterwards when he moved to the Soviet Union. He traded in Soviet aluminium which he shipped to Rotterdam via Latvia.

Ganley is former CEO and current Chairman of Rivada Networks, a US-based firm specialising in the provision of telecommunications systems to the military, police and emergency services in disaster situations. In the past, he has been involved in business ventures selling Russian aluminium and in the Latvian forestry sector. In the early 1990s Mr Ganley founded Kipelova Forestry Enterprises which became one of the largest forestry companies in the Russian Federation. He sold the company in 1997. In 1996, his company Ganley International founded the Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund, an Albanian financial fund formed to collect and invest privatisation vouchers. It was unsuccessful in its attempts to reinvest these vouchers, and collapsed. Back in Ireland, Ganley had owned the high-profile jewellery website, Adornis.com, which collapsed after the downturn in the technology sector. A 2006 interview in CNBC’s European Business magazine suggested Ganley had a personal worth of €300 million. Declan Ganley also has investments in a joint venture with Nana Pacific called Rivada Pacific. Rivada Päcific has contracts worth $240 million with the US Military. He is Chairman of Rivada Networks and recently appointed former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Meyers to the board.

Libertas

Declan Ganley is the founder and current Chairman of the pan-European political party Libertas and candidate for Libertas in the European Parliament election, 2009 in North West Ireland. Libertas started in 2006 as a lobby group campaigning for a No-vote to the Lisbon Treaty in the Irish Referendum 12 June 2008, and has evolved into a pan-European political movement. Libertas are running for the European Parliament election, 2009. in 20 European countries. In Rome 1 May 2009 Libertas held its first Party Congress.

Libertas' political policies call for greater levels of democracy, transparency, and accountability within the EU, as well as a twenty five page alternative to the Lisbon Treaty.. The origin of the party's funding has been questioned. It is reported that Ganley personally loaned the party €200,000 for the Lisbon Treaty Campaign. The European Union is set to ask US Congress about Libertas funding. .

Organizers of the Libertas parties in different member states are now complaining that Declan Ganley seems unwilling to pay them the money he promised, even though they spent a considerable part of this money on their election campaigns.

Candidacy to the European Parliament

On 14 March 2009 at a press interview Ganley announced his candidacy to the European Parliament, for Libertas in the constituency of North-West. Until May 1 2009 Ganley travelled all over Europe to campaign against the Lisbon Treaty, and help local Libertas branches. On May 1 2009 Libertas held their first Party Congress. Since May 1 2009 he has focused his campaign on North West Ireland, canvassing, attending public speeches and debates and appearing on radio and TV. One week after he launched his election campaign, incumbent MEP Jim Higgins branded Ganley as a 'puppet of the US military'. In a recent opinion poll Ganley polled 9% of first preference votes in the North West Constituency. . On June 8, 2009 it was announced that Ganley did not gain a seat in the European Parliament after which Ganley announced he would be withdrawing from politics.

Second Lisbon Treaty Referendum

In September 2009 Declan Ganley announced he would campaign against the second referendum to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.

See also

• Libertas Party
• Libertas Institute Limited
• Broadnet Holdings BV
• Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SA
• Adornis.com
• Rivada Networks

References

1. Hennessy, Mark (September 22, 2008). "Nationality of Libertas founder was listed as British in UK records". Irish Times. I am an Irishman, and I resent anybody trying to tell me that I am not.
2. Hawkins, Ross; Wheeler, Brian (8 May 2009). "Libertas chief sets out Euro stall". BBC News Online.
3. ^ "Profile: Declan Ganley". Sunday Times. May 25, 2008.
4. http://blogs.ft.com/brusselsblog/2009/03/fiendish-declan-ganley-prepares-to-spoil-another-eu-party/
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jq18p/HARDtalk_Declan_Ganley_founder_and_president_Libertas/
6. "Anti-Lisbon treaty campaign is launched". RTÉ News. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
7. 'What will international man of mystery Declan Ganley do next?' Sunday Tribune. June 15, 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
8. "Declan J. Ganley". www.rivada.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
9. ^ de Bréadún, Deaglán (March 11, 2009). "Ganley appoints defence industry figures to communications company". Irish Times.
10. Daly, Gavin (2006-03-19). "US magazine claims Ganley set to become billionaire". The Sunday Business Post.
11. ^ CNBC Profile of Declan Ganley retrieved 2 November 2008
12. ^ Declan Ganley - The King of 45 000 Albanian ShareHolders, Albanian Canadian League Information Service
13. http://cnbceb.com/people-profiles/declan-ganley/421/1/
14. ^ Keena, Colm (October 22, 2008). "Accounts detail Ganley's stake in US firm". Irish Times.
15. http://www.fedspending.org/fpds/fpds.php?fiscal_year=&company_name=Rivada+Pacific&sortby=r&datype=T&reptype=r&database=fpds&detail=3&submit=GO Fed Spending Rivada Contracts
16. Keena, Colm (October 29, 2008). "Ganley's US contracts could be worth €240m". Irish Times.
17. http://www.rivada.com/7130879/aboutus-keypersonnel.htm Rivada Networks Website Key Personel
18. About Libertas, http://libertas.eu/en/about-us/origins
19. http://libertas.eu/en/policies
20. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/why-secrecy-over-libertas-funding-1471371.html
21. Keena, Colm (December 6, 2008). "Ganley fails to provide clarity on Libertas loan". Irish Times.
22. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/politics/rivada-networks-not-funding-libertas-no-campaign-13879617.html
23. Smyth, Jamie (September 23, 2008). "MEPs seeking source of Libertas funding". Irish Times.
24. Keena, Colm; Hennessy, Mark (September 25, 2008). "More information on funding of Libertas given by Ganley". Irish Times.
25. Crosbie, Judith (September 26, 2008). "EU set to ask US Congress about Libertas fundraising". Irish Times.
26. Dirks, Bart (11 june 2009). "Europese partij Libertas zit zonder geld" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
27. Declan Ganley annouces EP candidagcy
28. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ganley-is-branded-a-puppet-of--us-military-1682436.html
29. Loscher, Damian (May 16, 2009). "Drop in support for FF may not benefit FG". Irish Times.
30. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0608/breaking59.htm
31. Ganley attacks Yes campaign's 'half-truths', Deaglán de Bréadún and Eithne Donnellan, The Irish Times, 14 September 2009, retrieved 16 September 2009

External links

• Libertas.eu homepage
• ACLIS: Declan J. Ganley
• RTE Irish National TV Primetime Special Investigates "Profile Declan Ganley" Broadcast 27 November 2008
• Some contracts awarded to Rivada Pacific by U.S. Government
• Irische EU-Kritiker rüsten sich für die Europawahl
• TanPortal News: Declan J. Ganley & Albania

• Libertas
• People from Watford
• Irish chief executives
• English chief executives
• 1968 births
• Living people