Frank Cluskey (8 April 1930 – 7 May 1989) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1982 to 1983, Leader of the Labour Party from 1977 to 1981 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare from 1973 to 1977. He served as 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 Dublin South-Central constituency from 1965 to 1969, 1977 to 1981 and 1982 to 1989. Cluskey was born on 8 April 1930 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

. He worked as a butcher and then joined the Labour Party. He quickly became a branch secretary in the

Workers' Union of Ireland The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the Services, Industrial, Professional and ...

. At the 1965 general election he was elected as a Labour Party

(TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency. In 1968 he was elected

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

. In 1973 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare,

Brendan Corish Brendan Corish (19 November 1918 – 17 February 1990) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Minister for Health from 1973 to 1977, Leader of the Labour Party, Minister for Social Welfare from 1954 to 1957 and from ...

. He introduced sweeping reforms to the area while he held that position, pushing through legislation introducing a 'single-mothers' welfare allowance and managing with his colleagues to triple welfare spending between 1973-1977. He played a leading role in initiating the EU Poverty Programmes. The

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

– Labour Party coalition was defeated at the 1977 general election resulting in the resignation of

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 at the 1981 general election and resigned the party leadership. On 1 July 1981, he was appointed as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for

, 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. 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 The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, to be replaced by

Brendan Halligan Brendan Halligan (5 July 1936 – 9 August 2020) was an Irish economist and politician. He was founder and president of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), a think tank on European and international issues. He was preside ...

. 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 Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cluskey, Frank 1930 births 1989 deaths Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Labour Party (Ireland) MEPs Leaders of the Labour Party (Ireland) Lord Mayors of Dublin Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984 Parliamentary Secretaries of the 20th Dáil Politicians from County Dublin Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment