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

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 European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Administration from 1982 to 1985, European Commissioner for Taxation, Consumer Affairs, Transport and Parliamentary Relations from 1977 to 1981 and

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 1973 to 1976. 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) from 1969 to 1976 and from 1981 to 1982.

Early life and education

Burke was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, in 1932. He was raised in

Upperchurch Upperchurch () is a small village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies in the Slievefelim Hills, just off the R503 road (Ireland), R503 Regional road (Ireland), regional road between Thurles and Limerick. Its Irish name was ...

, County Tipperary, and educated at the Christian Brothers School,

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. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

. He went on to study at

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 ...

(UCD) and

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

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

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council () was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established on 1 April 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 for the administrative count ...

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, 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 ...

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 I ...

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 fro ...

. In 1973, a new Fine Gael– Labour Party

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

was formed, and Burke was appointed

. 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 nomination by 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, 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 tw ...

of Labour to succeed

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery (; 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 European Commission and Europea ...

, who returned to become

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

. 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 mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

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 businesse ...

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

. 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 university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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. 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 an ...

. 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 led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

formed a minority

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

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 (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

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 the Irish and European levels, he became president and chief executive officer of the Stichting Canon Foundation in Europe, roles he held until his retirement in 1998. Burke married Mary in 1968, and they had six children. Burke died on 15 March 2016 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He was predeceased by his son Joseph.

External links

* Th
private papers
and som
interviews
of Richard Burke are deposited at th
Historical Archives of the European Union
in Florence.

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 of Ireland People from New York (state) Politicians from County Tipperary Members of Dublin County Council Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns European commissioners (1977–1981) European commissioners (1981–1985)