Michael O'Higgins

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Joseph O'Higgins ( Irish Mícheál Seosamh Ó hUiginn ; born November 1, 1917 in Crookstown, County Kildare ; † March 9, 2005 ) was an Irish politician of the Fine Gael who was a member of the House of Commons from 1948 to 1951 and again from 1954 to 1969 ( Dáil Éireann ) and further between 1951 and 1954 and again between 1969 and 1977 member of the Senate ( Seanad Éireann ). Most recently, he held the position of Leader of the Seanad from 1973 to 1977 as leader of the majority faction .

Life

Michael O'Higgins came from an influential family of politicians and was the son of Thomas F. O'Higgins, Sr. , who was a member of the Dáil Éireann from 1929 until his death in 1953, Secretary of Defense between 1948 and 1951 and Minister for a short period in 1951 for industry and trade. His younger brother Thomas Francis O'Higgins was also a member of the Dáil Éireann, Minister of Health and Chief Justice of Ireland and also a judge at the European Court of Justice . His uncle Kevin O'Higgins was also a member of the Dáil Éireann, Secretary of State and Justice of Ireland, and was shot on July 10, 1927 in Booterstown by three IRA members, Timothy Coughlin, Bill Gannon and Archie Doyle. One of his great uncles was Timothy Michael Healy , who was Governor General of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1927 .

After attending school, he studied law and then worked as a solicitor . In the elections of February 4, 1948 , O'Higgins was elected for the first time a member of the Dáil Éireann ( Teachta Dála ) for the Fine Gael in the constituency of Dublin South-West . He was sitting in the 13th legislative period at the same time as his father and older brother in the lower house of the Irish Parliament. In the elections of May 30, 1951 , however, he suffered a defeat and thus lost his mandate in the Dáil Éireann. Instead, he became a member of the Senate ( Seanad Éireann ) on August 14, 1951 , where he represented the interest group administration and social institutions ( Administrative Panel ). In the elections of May 14, 1954 , he was then re-elected for the Fine Gael as a member of the Dáil Éireann and initially represented the constituency of Dublin South-West again after his re-election in the elections of March 5, 1957 . In the elections of October 4, 1961 , he was now elected in the Wicklow constituency as a member of the House of Commons and re-elected in the April 7, 1965 elections, before he suffered another defeat in the June 18, 1969 elections and his mandate in the Dáil Éireann lost again.

Thereupon O'Higgins became again a member of the Senate on November 5, 1969 and represented in it initially until March 30, 1973 the so-called Cultural and Educational Panel , which represents the interest group for education, art, Irish language, culture and literature. On June 1, 1973 he was one of the eleven people nominated for the Senate by Prime Minister ( Taoiseach ) Liam Cosgrave , and was a member of the Senate until May 26, 1977. As leader of the majority faction of the Fine Gael, he held the position of Leader of the Seanad from 1973 to 1977 . In 1977 he decided not to run for the Senate again.

Michael O'Higgins was married to Brigid Hogan since 1958 , who was also a member of the Dáil Éireann between 1957 and 1977. This made him and his wife the first couple in Irish parliamentary history who were also members of the Dáil Éireann. Nine children emerged from this marriage, including Cahir O'Higgins, who as a solicitor deals in particular with known criminal and human rights proceedings.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas F. O'Higgins, Sr. on the Oireachtas page
  2. ↑ Thomas F. O'Higgins, Sr. at electionsireland.org
  3. ↑ Thomas F. O'Higgins on the Oireachtas homepage
  4. ↑ Thomas F. O'Higgins on electionsireland.org
  5. ↑ Kevin O'Higgins on the Oireachtas homepage
  6. ↑ Kevin O'Higgins at electionsireland.org
  7. ↑ Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins on the Oireachtas homepage
  8. ↑ Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins at electionsireland.org
personal data
SURNAME O'Higgins, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Higgins, Michael Joseph (full name); Ó hUiginn, Mícheál Seosamh (Irish name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Crookstown, County Kildare
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 2005