Gerard Sweetman
| Gerard Sweetman | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Finance | |
|
In office 2 June 1954 – 12 February 1957 |
|
| Taoiseach | John A. Costello |
| Preceded by | Seán MacEntee |
| Succeeded by | James Ryan |
| Teachta Dála | |
|
In office February 1948 – January 1970 |
|
| Constituency | Kildare |
| Senator | |
|
In office September 1943 – February 1948 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 June 1908 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 28 January 1970 (aged 61) Monasterevin, Kildare, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
(Hugh) Gerard Sweetman (10 June 1908 – 28 January 1970) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and solicitor.
Hugh Gerard Sweetman was born on 10 June 1908. His father James Sweetman was a practising barrister, and the family's return for the 1911 census shows that they employed three servants at their Lower Baggot Street home. The Sweetmans were no strangers to Irish politics. James' brother,Roger Sweetman, was elected to the First Dáil representing Wexford North, and was one of the first TDs to publicly call for a negotiated settlement to the Irish War of Independence.
Gerard was educated at the Beaumont School in Britain. He completed his studies at Trinity College, Dublin and went on to qualify as a solicitor in 1930.
Three weeks after his 29th birthday, Gerard Sweetman contested the 1937 general election. His target was the four-seater Carlow–Kildare constituency. Out of a field of 7 candidates, Sweetman came sixth with 8.5% of the vote.
He did not contest the 1938 general election, but ran again in 1943, and once again failed to secure election. He secured a Seanad seat in weeks that followed, and remained in the upper house through the 1944 election, until finally, with the creation of a separate Kildare constituency, he won a Dáil seat at the 1948 general election.
The 1948 general election returned the first inter-party government under Taoiseach John A. Costello. This coalition represented an 'anybody-but-Fianna-Fáil' gathering from across the political spectrum, and the newest Kildare TD sat on the backbenches until the government fell in 1951.
A second inter-party government took office in June 1954 with Sweetman promoted to Minister for Finance.
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Wikipedia