Richard Edward Burke (29 March 1932 – 15 March 2016) was an Irish

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 � ...

politician who served as

European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Administration A portfolio in the European Commission is an area of responsibility assigned to a European Commissioner, usually connected to one or several European Civil Service#Directorates-General, Directorates-General (DGs). Portfolios Agriculture The ...

from 1982 to 1985, European Commissioner for Taxation, Consumer Affairs, Transport and Parliamentary Relations from 1977 to 1981 and Minister for Education from 1973 to 1976. 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) from 1969 to 1976 and 1981 to 1982.

Early life and education

Burke was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, in 1932. He was raised in

Upperchurch Upperchurch () is a small village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies in the Slievefelim Hills, just off the R503 regional road between Thurles and Limerick. Its Irish name was historically anglicised as ''Templeoughteragh'', ''Templeoughtra ...

, County Tipperary, and educated at the

Christian Brothers School The following is a list of the schools, colleges, and other educational institutions founded, run or staffed (in any capacity) by the Congregation of Christian Brothers (sometimes called the Irish Christian Brothers) since 1802. Some schools no l ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

. He went on to study 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

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. He worked as a teacher before embarking on a political career.

Political career

His first political involvement was with the Christian Democrat Party founded by

Seán Loftus Seán Loftus may refer to: * Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus (1927–2010), Irish environmentalist, barrister and politician * Seán Loftus (hurler) Seán Loftus (born 1997) is an Irish hurling, hurler who plays for Galway Senior Hurling Champi ...

. However, he soon became a member of Fine Gael, becoming a member of

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

in 1967. Two years later, in 1969, he was elected to

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 ...

for the first time, becoming a TD for Dublin County South. He was immediately appointed Fine Gael

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

by party leader

Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from ...

. In 1973, a new Fine Gael– Labour Party

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

was formed, and Burke was appointed Minister for Education. He joined 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 ...

, Liam Cosgrave, in voting against the government's own Control of Importation, Sale and Manufacture of Contraceptives Bill 1974. In December 1976, he was nominated as Ireland's

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

, chosen ahead of fellow minister

Justin Keating Justin Pascal Keating (7 January 1930 – 31 December 2009) was an Irish Labour Party politician, broadcaster, journalist, lecturer and veterinary surgeon. In later life he was president of the Humanist Association of Ireland. Keating was twic ...

of Labour to succeed

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 ...

, who returned to become

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 ...

. Burke resigned his seat in the Dáil in January 1977 to take up his position. He took office in the Jenkins Commission as Commissioner for

Taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

Consumer Affairs Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

. On the completion of his four-year term as a European Commissioner, he accepted an invitation to stand at the 1981 general election for Fine Gael in June, on returning to Ireland from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

after his fellowship year at

Leverett House Leverett House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It is situated along the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge and consists of McKinlock Hall, constructed in 1925; two 12-story towers completed in 1 ...

from 1980 to 1981. He was elected a TD for

Dublin West Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cens ...

. However, Burke was not appointed to the short-lived cabinet of

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

. At the February 1982 election, he retained his seat, but Fine Gael lost office.

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 ...

formed a minority

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- ...

government with the support of independent deputies. Haughey's government nominated Burke for acceptance by the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

and

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 ...

as a European Commissioner, avoiding a depletion of the government's numbers. Being appointed for the second time his seniority resulted in his nomination as a Vice-President of the Commission.

Later life and death

After Burke left politics at both Irish and European level, he became President and chief executive officer of the Stichting Canon Foundation in Europe until his retirement in 1998. Burke died on 15 March 2016 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 survived by his wife Mary and five of their six children. He was predeceased by his son Joseph.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Richard 1932 births 2016 deaths Irish European Commissioners Fine Gael TDs Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Ministers for Education (Ireland) People from New York (state) Politicians from County Tipperary Councillors of Dublin County Council Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns European Commissioners 1977–1981 European Commissioners 1981–1985