Haughey, Charles James

▪ 2007

      Irish politician (b. Sept. 16, 1925, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ire.—d. June 13, 2006, Dublin, Ire.), was prime minister of Ireland (1979–81, March–December 1982, and 1987–92). His first two terms in office were marked by deteriorating relations with the U.K., a declining economy, and deep divisions within the Fianna Fáil party. He later successfully mounted a fiscal-austerity program to address Ireland's financial crisis, but he was ultimately brought down in a corruption scandal. Haughey was the son of an officer in the original Irish Republican Army (IRA). He studied law and accounting at University College, Dublin, made a fortune (apparently in real estate), and married (1951) the daughter of Sean Lemass (prime minister, 1959–66). After several failed attempts, Haughey was elected to the Dail (lower house of parliament) in 1957 as a member of Fianna Fáil. He served in the cabinet as minister of justice (1961–64), of agriculture (1964–66), and of finance (1966–70). In 1970 he was twice tried for conspiracy to use government funds to procure arms for the outlawed IRA; the first trial was aborted, and he won acquittal in the second. He was dismissed from the government but remained in the Dail, and when Fianna Fáil was returned to office in 1977, he was made minister for health and social welfare. On the resignation of Prime Minister Jack Lynch in 1979, Haughey was elected party leader and thus became prime minister. In June 1981 his government fell, but he returned to power briefly in 1982 and again after elections in February 1987. His government lacked a majority in the Dail, however, and two years later he formed Fianna Fáil's first coalition government, with the Progressive Democrats. Haughey resigned in 1992 after being implicated in a wiretapping scandal; he denied the allegations. An official tribunal determined in 1997 that he had received large sums of money from a prominent businessman while prime minister. After other irregularities were uncovered, Haughey agreed to pay more than €6 million (about $7.7 million) in back taxes and penalties.

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