Jim O'Keeffe (born 31 March 1941) is an Irish former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who served as

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 1981 to 1982 and again from 1982 to 1987. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Cork South-West constituency from 1977 to 2011. O'Keeffe was born in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, in 1941. He was educated at St. Fachtna's High School, Skibbereen;

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

;

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and the Incorporated Law School of the Incorporated Law Society. He practised as a solicitor before entering public office. O'Keeffe was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at the 1977 general election as a

TD for Cork South-West and retained his seat at each general election until his retirement in 2011. In June 1981, he was appointed as

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Government of Ireland who may perform funct ...

with responsibility for overseas development by the Fine Gael– Labour Party government led by Garret FitzGerald. This government lasted until March 1982. After a brief period in opposition, the two parties formed a new coalition government in December 1982. O'Keeffe was appointed to the same position. In a reshuffle in February 1986, he was moved and appointed as Minister of State at the Department of the Public Service. He retained this position until March 1987, when Fine Gael returned to opposition. He held numerous Opposition Front Bench portfolios including Foreign Affairs; Social, Community and Family Affairs; Social Welfare; Agriculture and Health; and Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In 1996–97, he was the first chair of the All-Party

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Committee on the Constitution. He is a former vice-chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution. O'Keeffe retired from politics at the 2011 general election. He was a member of the

Standards in Public Office Commission The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) () is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Government of Ireland, Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. It replaced the Public Offices Commission which h ...

from 11 February 2014 until 10 February 2020.

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