Michael Smith (born 8 November 1940) is an Irish former

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 who served as

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

from 1997 to 2004, Minister for Education from November 1994 to December 1994, Minister for the Environment from 1992 to 1994 and a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in various governments. 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 Tipperary North constituency from 1969 to 1973, 1977 to 1981 and 1987 to 2002. He also 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 ...

for the

Cultural and Educational Panel The Cultural and Educational Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...

from 1983 to 1987 and for the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

from May 1982 to December 1982.

Background and education

Smith was born in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

in 1940. He was educated at CBS Templemore in

. Smith worked as a farmer before entering

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 1969 general election as a

TD for the Tipperary North constituency. He lost his seat at the 1973 general election but was re-elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1977 general election.

Political career

1980s

In 1980, the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

appointed him Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture. Smith lost his Dáil seat again at the February 1982 general election, and failed to regain it at the November 1982 general election. He spent the next five years as a Senator in

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

, elected first by the

and then by the

, before his re-election to the Dáil at the 1987 general election. When Smith was returned to the Dáil in 1987, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Energy. He was appointed to cabinet as the Minister for Energy in 1988. His stay as Minister was brief; following the 1989 general election he was demoted to Minister of State for Science and Technology.

1992–2007

In 1992, he returned to Cabinet for two years as Minister for the Environment. He replaced David Andrews as

in October 1997, and held that position until he was dropped from the Cabinet in a reshuffle in 2004. During his tenure Smith dealt with the Army deafness compensation issue that ultimately resulted in claims of €300 million against the State. At the 2007 general election he lost his seat to

Noel Coonan Noel Coonan (born 6 January 1951) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary North (Dáil constituency), Tipperary North constituency from 2007 to 2016. He was a Seanad Éireann, Senator for the C ...

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 � ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael 1940 births Living people Local councillors in North Tipperary Fianna Fáil TDs Irish farmers Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Politicians from County Tipperary Ministers for Defence (Ireland) Ministers for Education (Ireland) Ministers for the Environment (Ireland) Ministers of State of the 28th Dáil Ministers of State of the 26th Dáil Ministers of State of the 25th Dáil Ministers of State of the 21st Dáil People from Roscrea Fianna Fáil senators People educated at Our Lady's Secondary School, Templemore