- 0000003
- Personne
- 1925-2006
Charles J. Haughey (1925-2006) was a leading Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach of Ireland. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) (member of the Irish Parliament) in various north Dublin constituencies for 35 unbroken years, in ministerial office for 14, and Taoiseach for seven.
Haughey was born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, on 16 September 1925. His family moved to Meath and then to Dublin, where he spent most of his youth. He studied commerce at University College Dublin in the 1940s, becoming a barrister and a chartered accountant in 1949.. Haughey and Maureen Lemass (1925-2017) married in 1951, they had four children: Eimear, Conor, Ciarán and Seán.
Haughey was first elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) in 1957 for the Dublin North-East constituency and was re-elected in every election until 1992. During his political career, Haughey was Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1987-1992, Leader of the Opposition from 1981-1982 and 1982-1987, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1979-1992, Minister for Social Welfare and Health from 1977-1979, Minister for Finance from 1966-1970, Minister for Agriculture from 1964-1966, Minister for Justice from 1961-1964 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice from 1959-1961. Haughey led four governments while serving as Taoiseach; December 1979-June 1981, February- November 1982, February 1987-June 1989, and June 1989-February 1992.
Haughey's career was interrupted in 1970 by the Arms Crisis, which resulted in his removal as Minister for Finance. Haughey returned to the front bench in opposition in 1975, and to government in 1977. In a party leadership contest in December 1979, he defeated George Colley, and replaced Jack Lynch as Taoiseach.
In February 1992, after four terms in office, Haughey resigned, briefly remaining as a backbench TD until formally retiring that December. He returned to the public eye, as a result of judicial inquiries into his finances in the McCracken (1997) and Moriarty Tribunals, the latter issuing its findings six months after his death on 13 June 2006 at his home in Abbeville.
In 2008, the Haughey family donated his private papers to Dublin City University. The Charles J. Haughey Collection is extensive and engaging, comprising over 500 archival boxes of correspondence, writings, speeches, photographs, audio, video, objects and artefacts.