James Tully (politician)

James (Jim) Tully (born September 18, 1915 in Carlanstown near Kells in County Meath , † May 20, 1992 ) was an Irish trade unionist, deputy chairman of the Irish Labor Party and held various ministerial offices in the Irish government.

Tully went to school in Carlanstown and Meath. He was a member ( Teachta Dála ) of the Irish House of Commons Dáil Éireann for Meath. After the Irish Labor Party formed a coalition with the Christian Democratic Fine Gael , he became Minister for Local Government in 1973. During his time, he became known on the one hand for the fact that the expenditure on state-subsidized social housing construction rose suddenly, and that he was responsible for redrawing the constituencies so that the government would remain in office ( Gerrymandering ). So infamous was his strategy that it went down in Irish history as the Tullymandering and was instrumental in ensuring that voters inflicted a landslide defeat on the government in the 1977 election. After the 1981 election ended happier for Labor / Fine Gael, he took the post of Irish Defense Minister from 1981 until the collapse of the coalition in 1982. In 1982 he suffered severe facial injuries while standing next to Anwar as-Sadat when he was murdered. In the same year he retired from politics.