Charles Haughey

Charles Haughey
colour photograph of a 64-year-old Haughey
Haughey in 1989
7th Taoiseach
In office
10 March 1987 – 11 February 1992
President
Tánaiste
Preceded byGarret FitzGerald
Succeeded byAlbert Reynolds
In office
9 March 1982 – 14 December 1982
PresidentPatrick Hillery
TánaisteRay MacSharry
Preceded byGarret FitzGerald
Succeeded byGarret FitzGerald
In office
11 December 1979 – 30 June 1981
PresidentPatrick Hillery
TánaisteGeorge Colley
Preceded byJack Lynch
Succeeded byGarret FitzGerald
Minister for the Gaeltacht
In office
10 March 1987 – 11 February 1992
TaoiseachHimself
Preceded byPaddy O'Toole
Succeeded byJohn Wilson
Leader of the Opposition
In office
14 December 1982 – 10 March 1987
PresidentPatrick Hillery
TaoiseachGarret FitzGerald
Preceded byGarret FitzGerald
Succeeded byAlan Dukes
In office
30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982
PresidentPatrick Hillery
TaoiseachGarret FitzGerald
Preceded byGarret FitzGerald
Succeeded byGarret FitzGerald
Leader of Fianna Fáil
In office
7 December 1979 – 6 February 1992
Deputy
  • George Colley
  • Ray MacSharry
  • Brian Lenihan Snr
  • John Wilson
Preceded byJack Lynch
Succeeded byAlbert Reynolds
Minister for Social Welfare
In office
5 July 1977 – 12 December 1979
TaoiseachJack Lynch
Preceded byBrendan Corish
Succeeded byMichael Woods
Minister for Health
In office
5 July 1977 – 11 December 1979
TaoiseachJack Lynch
Preceded byBrendan Corish
Succeeded byMichael Woods
Minister for Finance
In office
10 November 1966 – 7 May 1970
TaoiseachJack Lynch
Preceded byJack Lynch
Succeeded byGeorge Colley
Minister for Agriculture
In office
8 October 1964 – 10 November 1966
TaoiseachSeán Lemass
Preceded byPaddy Smith
Succeeded byNeil Blaney
 (Agriculture & Fisheries)
Minister for Justice
In office
11 October 1961 – 8 October 1964
TaoiseachSeán Lemass
Preceded byOscar Traynor
Succeeded byBrian Lenihan Snr
Parliamentary Secretary
1959–1961Justice
Teachta Dála
In office
June 1981 – November 1992
ConstituencyDublin North-Central
In office
June 1977 – June 1981
ConstituencyDublin Artane
In office
March 1957 – June 1977
ConstituencyDublin North-East
Personal details
Born(1925-09-16)16 September 1925
Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Died13 June 2006(2006-06-13) (aged 80)
Kinsealy, Dublin, Ireland
Resting placeSt. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton
Political partyFianna Fáil
Spouse
(m. 1951)
Children4, including Seán
Relatives
EducationSt. Joseph's School
Alma mater
Occupation
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Military service
Branch/service Irish Army
Years of service1941–1957
UnitArmy Reserve

Charles James Haughey (/ˈhɔːhi/; HAW-hee[1] 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1987 to 1992, Leader of the Opposition from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1979 to 1992, Minister for Social Welfare and for Health from 1977 to 1979, Minister for Finance from 1966 to 1970, Minister for Agriculture from 1964 to 1966, Minister for Justice from 1961 to 1964 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice from 1959 to 1961. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1957 to 1992.[2]

Haughey was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1957 and was re-elected at every election until 1992, representing successively the Dublin North-East, Dublin Artane and Dublin North-Central constituencies.

Haughey was the dominant Irish politician of his generation,[3] as well as the most controversial.[4] Upon entering government in the early 1960s, Haughey became the symbol of a new vanguard of Irish Ministers.[5] As Taoiseach, he is credited by some economists with starting the positive transformation of the economy in the late 1980s.[6] However, his career was also marked by several major scandals. Haughey was implicated in the Arms Crisis of 1970, which nearly destroyed his career. His political reputation revived, his tenure as Taoiseach was then damaged by the sensational GUBU Affair in 1982; his party leadership was challenged four times, each time unsuccessfully, earning Haughey the nickname "The Great Houdini".[4] Revelations about his role in a phone tapping scandal forced him to resign as Taoiseach and retire from politics in 1992.

After Haughey's forced retirement, further revelations of political corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and a 27-year extra-marital affair further tarnished his reputation and legacy.[7] He died of prostate cancer in 2006, aged 80.[8]

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  2. ^ "Charles J. Haughey". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  3. ^ "The death of Charles Haughey". The Irish Times. 14 June 2006. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Ex-Irish Taoiseach Haughey dies". BBC News. 13 June 2006. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference it-3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Charles Haughey". The Economist. 22 June 2006. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference reporttext was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Charles Haughey (1925–2006)". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012.