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.

Leader of Fine Gael

In 1977 the National Coalition of Fine Gael and Labour suffered a disastrous electoral defeat. Liam Cosgrave resigned as party leader and FitzGerald was chosen by acclamation to succeed him. In his new role as Leader of the Opposition and party leader he set about modernising and revitalising Fine Gael. He immediately appointed a General-Secretary to oversee all of this, a tactic copied from Fianna Fáil. FitzGerald took a personal tour of every constituency in Ireland in an effort to breath new life into a demoralised Fine Gael.

Related Topics:
1977 - National Coalition - Liam Cosgrave - Leader of the Opposition - Fianna Fáil - Fine Gael

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Under FitzGerald, Fine Gael experienced a rapid rise in support and popularity. By the November 1982 election, it held only five seats less than Fianna Fáil (their closest ever margin; at times Fianna Fáil was nearly twice as large), with Fine Gael in the Oireachtas (both houses of parliament) bigger than Fianna Fáil, an unprecedented achievement. Much of the success was FitzGerald's; he brought in a new generation of brilliant young politicians, including future Taoiseach John Bruton, future party leaders Alan Dukes and Michael Noonan, and other exceptional figures such as Jim Mitchell, Ivan Yates and Gemma Hussey. But Fine Gael's rise was in part a reaction to the controversial nature and unpopularity of his old college rival and now Fianna Fáil leader, Charles J. Haughey. The epic battles between Haughey and FitzGerald (or 'Charlie' and 'Garret' as it was personalised) dominated Irish politics in the 1980s.

Related Topics:
Oireachtas - John Bruton - Alan Dukes - Michael Noonan - Jim Mitchell - Ivan Yates - Gemma Hussey - Charles J. Haughey

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