Garret FitzGerald

Dr. Garret FitzGerald (Irish name: Gearóid MacGearailt) (born February 9, 1926) was the seventh Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving two terms in office; July 1981 to February 1982, and December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála in 1969. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1977. FitzGerald was the leader of Fine Gael between 1977 and 1987. He is also the son of Desmond FitzGerald who was the first Minister for External Affairs of the new Irish state. At present FitzGerald is the Chancellor of the National University of Ireland. He is credited as being the most successful leader of the modern Fine Gael party.

Assessment

Though a highly successful Minister for Foreign Affairs, Garret was judged a relatively poor Taoiseach; his notoriously long cabinet meetings were dreaded by ministers, while differences in policy between Fine Gael and Labour prevented the Government from agreeing an approach to deal with the Irish economic crisis and spiralling government debt.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, FitzGerald was one of the Republic of Ireland's most popular politicians, known to all sides simply as 'Garret'. His gregarious nature, his notorious ability to talk faster than many thought humanly possible, his genuine ecumenism and his 'absent minded professor' image, made him a major political force from his entry into Irish politics in the mid-1960s until his retirement in 1992.

Related Topics:
Republic of Ireland - Ecumenism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~