49 Facts About John Bruton

John Gerard Bruton was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 and Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001.

John Bruton was Leader of the Opposition from 1990 to 1994 and 1997 to 2001.

John Bruton served as a Teachta Dala for Meath from 1969 to 2004.

John Gerard Bruton was born to a wealthy, Catholic farming family in Dunboyne, County Meath, and educated at Clongowes Wood College.

John Bruton later went on to study at University College Dublin, where he received an honours Bachelor of Arts degree and qualified as a barrister from King's Inns, but never went on to practice law.

John Bruton was narrowly elected to Dail Eireann in the 1969 general election, as a Fine Gael TD for Meath.

John Bruton was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce and the Minister for Education, in the National Coalition in 1973.

In 1978, John Bruton married Finola Gill; and they had four children.

John Bruton was later promoted as Spokesperson for Finance, making a particularly effective speech in the Dail in response to the budget of 1980.

John Bruton played a prominent role in Fine Gael's campaign in the 1981 general election, which resulted in another coalition with the Labour Party, with FitzGerald as Taoiseach.

The government collapsed unexpectedly on the night of 27 January 1982, when John Bruton's budget was defeated in the Dail.

The minority Fianna Fail government which followed only lasted until November 1982, when Fine Gael returned to power in a coalition government with the Labour Party, but when the new government was formed, John Bruton was moved from Finance to become Minister for Industry and Energy.

John Bruton was on Fine Gael's right wing, whereas Dukes was in FitzGerald's social democratic and liberal mould.

John Bruton, who was the deputy leader of Fine Gael at the time, was unopposed in the ensuing leadership election.

Whereas Dukes came from the social democratic wing of Fine Gael, John Bruton came from the more conservative wing.

However, John Bruton's perceived right-wing persona and his rural background were used against him by critics and particularly by the media.

Fine Gael, and John Bruton personally, continued to perform poorly in opinion polls throughout 1993 and early 1994, John Bruton narrowly survived a challenge to his leadership in early 1994.

John Bruton was able to persuade Labour to end its coalition with Fianna Fail and enter a new coalition government with Fine Gael and Democratic Left.

John Bruton faced charges of hypocrisy for agreeing to enter government with the Democratic Left, as Fine Gael campaigned in the 1992 general election on a promise not to enter government with the party.

John Bruton established a working relationship with Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein both were mutually distrustful of each other.

However, John Bruton received widespread praise in the Republic for condemning the Royal Ulster Constabulary for yielding to loyalist threats at Drumcree by allowing members of the Orange Order to parade through a nationalist district.

John Bruton stated that the RUC had been neither impartial nor consistent in applying the law.

John Bruton presided over a successful Irish Presidency of the European Union in 1996 and helped finalise the Stability and Growth Pact, which establishes macroeconomic parameters for countries participating in the single European currency, the euro.

John Bruton's government suffered from some allegations of corruption, and political embarrassment.

However, following further evidence at the tribunal, John Bruton returned to it in October 2007 and conceded that "it gradually came back to me", and that Dunlop, "did say to me something about a Councillor looking for money".

John Bruton presided over the first official visit by a member of the British royal family since 1912, by Charles, Prince of Wales.

John Bruton was deposed from leadership in 2001, in favour of Michael Noonan, due in part to fears Fine Gael would suffer severe losses in the 2002 election.

John Bruton was one of two National Parliament Representatives to sit on the 12-member Praesidium, which helped steer the European Convention.

John Bruton was a member of the Comite d'Honneur of the Institute of International and European Affairs, along with Peter Sutherland and Bertie Ahern.

John Bruton served as a vice-president of the European People's Party.

John Bruton accepted an offer to become European Union Ambassador to the United States, in the summer of 2004, and after resigning from the Dail on 1 November 2004, he assumed that office.

John Bruton received an Honorary Doctorate from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2003, and from the University of Missouri in 2009.

John Bruton's brother, Richard Bruton, is a Fine Gael politician and has served in several ministerial roles, most recently as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

John Bruton was very much an outside shot for the position as EU leaders firmly indicated they want a chairman-style president rather than a high-profile figurehead to fill the post.

John Bruton was widely discussed as a candidate for the 2011 presidential election and was approached by Fine Gael with the opportunity to become their candidate; on 28 May 2011 John Bruton stated that he was "flattered" to be asked, but would not be a candidate for the presidency.

From November 2011, John Bruton acted as an advisor to Fair Observer focusing mainly on the areas of politics, finance and economics as well as on issues pertaining to Europe.

In particular, Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein and John Bruton clashed ideologically several times over the course of their lives.

In 2014, on the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Government of Ireland Act 1914, John Bruton said the 1916 Easter Rising was not a "just war", in the Catholic understanding of the term, because it was not a last resort.

Adams argued that John Bruton's view was naive; the Home Rule Bill had been suspended due to the First World War and would have introduced only a limited form of devolution, likely with partition.

Adams attacked Bruton's silence on the role John Redmond played in encouraging tens of thousands of Irishmen to fight in a foreign war, where over 30,000 Irish died.

John Bruton argued that Home Rule had already been won peacefully in 1914, and the Rising unnecessarily prolonged conflict, causing avoidable deaths.

John Bruton stressed that parliamentary methods, not violence, offered a better path to Irish self-governance; he pointed out that Adams himself eventually adopted peaceful politics with greater success.

John Bruton criticised the lack of commemoration for the Home Rule Act compared to 1916 celebrations, warning against glorifying violence over democratic achievement.

Nevertheless, John Bruton threw the weight of his leadership behind Fine Gael's successful effort to legalise divorce in 1995 via referendum.

John Bruton supported the "No" campaign during the 2018 Irish referendum on abortion.

John Bruton argued that abortion is inconsistent with Ireland's philosophy of protecting life.

John Bruton criticised the Government's proposed legislation as too liberal and advocated for a more cautious approach.

John Bruton argued that constitutional protection for the fetus reflects Irish values.

John Bruton died aged 76 on 6 February 2024 at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin, having had cancer for some time.