Background
Cluskey was born on 8 April 1930 in Dublin, and was educated at Saint Vincent"s C.B.S. in Glasnevin.
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Frank Cluskey
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Career
He worked as a butcher and then joined the Labour Party. He quickly became a branch secretary in the Workers" Union of Ireland. At the 1965 general election he was elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (Territorial Decoration) for the Dublin South–Central constituency.
In 1968 he was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.
In 1973 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare, Brendan Corish. He introduced sweeping reforms to the area while he held that position.
He played a leading role in initiating the European Union Poverty Programmes. Cluskey was elected the new leader of the Labour Party.
However Cluskey had lost his seat in Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election and with it the party leadership.
The coalition government fell in January 1982 over a budget dispute, and Cluskey was re-elected to the Dáil at the February 1982 general election. When the coalition returned to office after the November 1982 election, Cluskey was appointed as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism. He then resigned from the European Parliament, to be replaced by Brendan Halligan.
On 8 December 1983 he resigned as Minister due to a fundamental disagreement over government policy about the Dublin Gas Company.
He retained his Dáil seat in the 1987 general election. Following his re-election his health deteriorated.
He died on 7 May 1989 after a long battle with cancer.
Politics
The Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition was defeated at the 1977 general election resulting in the resignation of Brendan Corish as Labour Party leader. In 1981, the Labour Party entered into a coalition government with Fine Gael.
Membership
He was appointed on 1 July 1981 as a Member of the European Parliament (Member of the European Parliament) for Dublin, replacing Michael O"Leary, who had resigned the seat after succeeding Cluskey as Labour leader.
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Born
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Died
March 7, 1989 (aged 58) -
Political Party
Labour Party