Brian James Hillery (22 November 1937 – 19 January 2021) was an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician and finance executive who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1977 to 1982, 1983 to 1989 and 1992 to 1997 and a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

constituency from 1989 to 1992.

Academic and political career

Hillery studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD) and the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and worked in banking before joining the UCD faculty in 1967. He became the inaugural ESSO Professor of Industrial Relations in 1974. Hillery's uncle,

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Euro ...

, was a Fianna Fáil TD and Minister until 1973, and

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

from 1976 to 1990. In 1977, Brian Hillery was elected to the 14th Seanad as a Fianna Fáil Senator for the Administrative Panel. Minister Gene Fitzgerald's 1978 suggestion that he chair the Commission on Industrial Relations was rejected by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions as party-political. After unsuccessfully contesting the 1981 Irish general election, 1981 general election in

, he was returned to the 15th Seanad, serving from 1981–1982. He did not sit in the brief 16th Seanad, but was re-elected to the 17th Seanad in 1983, where he served until he was elected a TD for Dún Laoghaire at the 1987 Irish general election, 1987 general election. At the 1992 Irish general election, 1992 general election, he lost his Dáil seat, which Barry Desmond attributed to a lack of constituency work. He was then Nominated members of Seanad Éireann, nominated to the 20th Seanad by Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. He resigned as Senator in May 1994 when he was appointed to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Public and private sector board member

From 1994 to 1997, Hillery was an executive director at the EBRD in London representing Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Denmark. He then became a director and, from 1999, chairman, of UniCredit's Irish operations at the Dublin International Financial Services Centre. Public sector advisory bodies on which Hillery served include the Government Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector (1999–2007), the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission (2004–2014), and the Irish commission of the Fulbright Program (2002–2004). He was a director of the Central Bank of Ireland and Financial Regulator from April 2008 until the bodies were reformed in October 2010. The Oireachtas joint committee of inquiry into Post-2008 Irish banking crisis, the post-2008 banking crisis initially intended to ask him to make a statement but did not proceed with this. Hillery was founding chairman from 1997 to 2015 of Providence Resources, a hydrocarbon company established by Tony O'Reilly. In 2003, he was appointed to the board of Independent News & Media, succeeding Tony O'Reilly as chairman in 2009 while O'Reilly remained chief executive. Hillery resigned in 2011 in the face of pressure from Denis O'Brien. He died in January 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillery, Brian 1937 births 2021 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 14th Seanad Members of the 15th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 20th Seanad People from Dún Laoghaire People from County Clare Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators Independent News & Media Alumni of University College Dublin Academics of University College Dublin University of Georgia alumni