Dublin: Former Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald died in hospital here Thursday after a short illness.
FitzGerald, 85, was the leader of Fine Gael between 1977 and 1987. He served twice as prime minister, from July 1981 to February 1982 and from December 1982 to March 1987. He died at the Mater private hospital.
Born in 1926 in Dublin, both of FitzGerald’s parents had been involved in Sinn Fein during Ireland’s War of Independence.
He was elected to the Seanad (upper house of parliament) in 1965 and the Dail (lower house of parliament) in 1969.
When Fine Gael (United Ireland Party) entered government in 1973, he became minister for foreign affairs. He succeeded Liam Cosgrave as Fine Gael leader after the 1977 election defeat.
In 1987, he quit the Fine Gael leadership.
Although he retired from the Dail in 1992, he still took part in a few political campaigns, particularly in the referenda on the Nice and Lisbon Treaties.
He also served as chancellor of the National University of Ireland (NUI) for 12 years, from 1997 to 2009.
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