Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera[a][b] (/ˈeɪmən ˌdɛvəˈlɛərə, -ˈlɪər-/, Irish: [ˈeːmˠən̪ˠ dʲɛ ˈwalʲəɾʲə]; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera;[2] 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of government and head of state and had a leading role in introducing the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.[3][4]
"De Valera" redirects here. For other people with the surname, see De Valera (surname).
Éamon de Valera
Seán T. O'Kelly
Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán T. O'Kelly
Seán Lemass
John A. Costello
John A. Costello
- Douglas Hyde
- Seán T. O'Kelly
- Seán T. O'Kelly
- Seán Lemass
Himself as president of the Executive Council
John A. Costello
Seán T. O'Kelly
Himself as Taoiseach
Seán T. O'Kelly
John A. Costello
John A. Costello
John A. Costello
Seán T. O'Kelly
John A. Costello
John A. Costello
W. T. Cosgrave
W. T. Cosgrave
Office established
Seán Lemass
Office established
Office abolished
John Henry Collins
Constituency established
Constituency abolished
Constituency abolished
29 August 1975 (aged 92)
Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland
Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland
- Cumann na Poblachta
(1922–1923) - Sinn Féin
(1916–1922) - Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin
(1923–1926)
- Juan Vivion de Valera (father)
- Catherine Coll (mother)
- Éamon Ó Cuív (grandson)
- Síle de Valera (granddaughter)
- Teacher
- politician
De Valera was a commandant of Irish Volunteers at Boland's Mill during the 1916 Easter Rising. He was arrested and sentenced to death, but released for a variety of reasons, including his American citizenship and the public response to the British execution of Rising leaders. He returned to Ireland after being jailed in England and became one of the leading political figures of the War of Independence. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera served as the political leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin until 1926, when he, along with many supporters, left the party to set up Fianna Fáil, a new political party which abandoned the policy of abstentionism from Dáil Éireann.
From there, de Valera went on to be at the forefront of Irish politics until the turn of the 1960s. He took over as president of the Executive Council from W. T. Cosgrave and later became Taoiseach, with the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland in 1937. He served as Taoiseach on three different occasions: from 1937 to 1948, from 1951 to 1954, and finally from 1957 to 1959. He remains the longest serving Taoiseach by total days served in the post. He resigned in 1959 upon his election as president of Ireland. By then, he had been Leader of Fianna Fáil for 33 years and he, along with older founding members, began to take a less prominent role relative to newer ministers such as Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. De Valera served as President of Ireland from 1959 to 1973, two full terms in office.
De Valera's political beliefs evolved from militant Irish republicanism to strong social, cultural and fiscal conservatism.[5] He has been characterised as having a stern and unbending, and also devious demeanour. His roles in the Civil War have also been interpreted as making him a divisive figure in Irish history. Biographer Tim Pat Coogan sees his time in power as being characterised by economic and cultural stagnation, while Diarmaid Ferriter argues that the stereotype of de Valera as an austere, cold, and even backward figure was largely manufactured in the 1960s and is misguided.[5]
Post-war period: Taoiseach/Opposition leader[edit]
Opposition leader (1948–1951)[edit]
After de Valera had spent sixteen years in power without answering the crucial questions of partition and republican status the public demanded a change from the Fianna Fáil government. In the 1948 election, de Valera lost the outright majority he had enjoyed since 1933. It initially looked as if the National Labour Party would give Fianna Fáil enough support to stay in office as a minority government, but National Labour insisted on a formal coalition agreement, something de Valera was unwilling to concede. However, while Fianna Fáil was six seats short of a majority, it was still by far the largest party in the Dáil, with 37 more TDs than the next largest party and rival, Fine Gael (the successor to Cumann na nGaedheal). Conventional wisdom held that de Valera would remain Taoiseach with the support of independent deputies.
This belief came to nought when (after the final votes were counted) the other parties realised that if they banded together, they would have only one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil, and would be able to form a government with the support of at least seven independents. The result was the First Inter-Party Government, with John A. Costello of Fine Gael as its compromise candidate for Taoiseach. Costello was duly nominated, consigning de Valera to opposition for the first time in 16 years. The following year, Costello declared Ireland as a republic, leaving partition as the most pressing political issue of the day.[89]
De Valera, now Leader of the Opposition, left the actual parliamentary practice of opposing the government to his deputy, Seán Lemass, and himself embarked on a world campaign to address the issue of partition. He visited the United States, Australia, New Zealand and India, and in the latter country, was the last guest of the Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, before he was succeeded by the first Indian-born Governor-General.[90] In Melbourne, Australia, de Valera was feted by the powerful Catholic Archbishop Daniel Mannix, at the centenary celebrations of the diocese of Melbourne. He attended mass-meetings at Xavier College, and addressed the assembled Melbourne Celtic Club.[91] In Brisbane, Australia, at the request of the influential and long-serving Archbishop Duhig de Valera laid the foundation stone for the new High School building at Marist Brothers College Rosalie.[92] In October 1950, just thirty years after his dramatic escape from Lincoln Gaol, he returned to Lincoln and received the freedom of the gaol.[93] The Anti-Partition of Ireland League of Great Britain marked the occasion with a dinner in his honour and the toast was 'Anglo-Irish Friendship'.[94] A key message in de Valera's campaign was that Ireland could not join the recently established North Atlantic Treaty Organization as long as Northern Ireland was in British hands; although Costello's government favoured alliance with NATO, de Valera's approach won more widespread support and prevented the state from signing the treaty.[89]
The following governments were led by de Valera:
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