Frank Cluskey

Frank Cluskey
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism
In office
14 December 1982  8 December 1983
Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by Pádraig Flynn
Succeeded by Garret FitzGerald
Leader of the Labour Party
In office
1 July 1977  12 June 1981
Preceded by Brendan Corish
Succeeded by Michael O'Leary
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare
In office
14 March 1973  25 May 1977
Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave
Preceded by Johnny Geoghegan
Succeeded by Thomas Hussey
Teachta Dála
In office
April 1965  June 1969
In office
June 1977  June 1981
In office
February 1982  June 1989
Constituency Dublin South-Central
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 1981  24 November 1982
Constituency Dublin
Personal details
Born (1930-04-08)8 April 1930
Dublin, Ireland
Died 7 May 1989(1989-05-07) (aged 59)
Dublin, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Political party Labour Party

Frank Cluskey (8 April 1930 – 7 May 1989) was an Irish politician and leader of the Irish Labour Party from 1977 to 1981.[1]

Cluskey was born on 8 April 1930 in Dublin, and was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Glasnevin. He worked as a butcher and then joined the Labour Party. He quickly became a branch secretary in the Workers' Union of Ireland. At the 1965 general election he was elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency. In 1968 he was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. In 1973 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare, Brendan Corish. He introduced sweeping reforms to the area while he held that position. He played a leading role in initiating the EU Poverty Programmes.

The Fine GaelLabour Party coalition was defeated at the 1977 general election resulting in the resignation of Brendan Corish as Labour Party leader. Cluskey was elected the new leader of the Labour Party. In 1981, the Labour Party entered into a coalition government with Fine Gael. However Cluskey had lost his seat in Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election and with it the party leadership. He was appointed on 1 July 1981 as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Dublin, replacing Michael O'Leary, who had resigned the seat after succeeding Cluskey as Labour leader.

The coalition government fell in January 1982 over a budget dispute, and Cluskey was re-elected to the Dáil at the February 1982 general election.[2] When the coalition returned to office after the November 1982 election, Cluskey was appointed as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism. He then resigned from the European Parliament, to be replaced by Brendan Halligan.

On 8 December 1983 he resigned as Minister due to a fundamental disagreement over government policy about the Dublin Gas Company. He retained his Dáil seat in the 1987 general election.

Following his re-election his health deteriorated. He died on 7 May 1989 after a long battle with cancer.

References

  1. "Mr. Frank Cluskey". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  2. "Frank Cluskey". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Thomas Stafford
Lord Mayor of Dublin
1968–1969
Vacant
Corporation suspended
Political offices
Preceded by
Johnny Geoghegan
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare
1973–1977
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Preceded by
Pádraig Flynn
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism
1982–1983
Succeeded by
Garret FitzGerald
Party political offices
Preceded by
Brendan Corish
Leader of the Labour Party
1977–1981
Succeeded by
Michael O'Leary
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.