View source for Gerard Sweetman

{{Short description|Irish politician (1908–1970)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = Gerard_Sweetman.jpg
| office        = [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]
| taoiseach     = [[John A. Costello]]
| term_start    = 2 June 1954
| term_end      = 12 February 1957
| predecessor   = [[Seán MacEntee]]
| successor     = [[James Ryan (Irish politician)|James Ryan]]
| office1       = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start1   = [[1948 Irish general election|February 1948]]
| term_end1     = 28 January 1970
| constituency1 = [[Kildare (Dáil constituency)|Kildare]]
| office2       = [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]]
| term_start2   = 8 September 1943
| term_end2     = 21 April 1948
| constituency2 = [[Agricultural Panel]]
| birth_name    =  Hugh Gerard Sweetman
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1908|6|20|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Ballinteer]], [[Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1970|1|28|1908|6|20|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Monasterevin]], [[County Kildare]], Ireland 
| nationality   = [[Irish people|Irish]]
| party         = [[Fine Gael]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|Rosalind Mansfield|1941}}
| children      = 3
| education     = [[Downside School]]
| alma_mater    = {{Ubl|[[Trinity College Dublin]]|[[King's Inns]]}}
| relatives     = {{Ubl|[[Roger Sweetman]] (uncle)|[[Edmund Sweetman]] (cousin)}}
|}}
'''Hugh Gerard Sweetman''' (20 June 1908 – 28 January 1970) was an Irish [[Fine Gael]] politician who served as [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]] from 1954 to 1957. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) for the [[Kildare (Dáil constituency)|Kildare]] constituency from 1948 to 1970. He was a [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]] for the [[Agricultural Panel]] from 1943 to 1948.<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Gerard-Sweetman.S.1943-09-08/|title=Gerard Sweetman|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=19 August 2012|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107185319/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Gerard-Sweetman.S.1943-09-08|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Family and childhood==
Hugh Gerard Sweetman was born on 20 June 1908.<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/sweetman-hugh-gerard-a8404|title=Sweetman, (Hugh) Gerard|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=Feeney|first=Tom|access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/South_Dock/Baggot_Street__Lower/80195/|title=Residents of a house 61 in Baggot Street, Lower (South Dock, Dublin)|work=National Archives of Ireland|access-date=19 August 2012|archive-date=15 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215150201/http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/South_Dock/Baggot_Street__Lower/80195/|url-status=live}}</ref> His mother Agnes was the daughter of Sir George Fottrell of North Great George's Street, Dublin. His brothers, Séamus, George, and Denis, served in the [[World War II]]; Denis was killed on 23 May 1940 at Boulogne and Séamus was awarded an MBE in 1945.<ref name=dib/>

James' brother,<ref>Burke's Irish Family Records (1976), p. 1080.</ref> [[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]].<ref>''A Short History of Ireland'', John O'Beirne Ranelagh.<!-- publisher; ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed --></ref>

He was educated at the [[Downside School]] in England.<ref name=dib/> He completed his studies at [[Trinity College Dublin]] and went on to qualify as a solicitor in 1930.

==Early political career==
Sweetman's first brush with politics came with his involvement with the [[Blueshirts]]: He was a member of the League of Youth, one of their youth wings, and was elected to Blueshirt's national council in August 1935.<ref name=dib/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Meehan|first=C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fbvQAQAAQBAJ&q=blueshirt&pg=PP43|title=A Just Society for Ireland? 1964-1987|date=2013-10-15|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-02206-6|language=en}}</ref> As the Blueshirts dissipated, Sweetman folded into the newly formed Fine Gael. Three weeks after his 29th birthday, Sweetman contested the [[1937 Irish general election|1937 general election]].<ref name=elecs_irl/> His target was the four-seater [[Carlow–Kildare (Dáil constituency)|Carlow–Kildare]] constituency. Out of a field of 7 candidates, Sweetman came in sixth with 8.5% of the vote.<ref>PDST, History, Case Study: The First Programme for Economic Expansion, 1958 - 1963, Dublin, 2016 Page 11</ref>

He did not contest the 1938 general election but ran again in 1943, and once again failed to secure election. He secured a [[Seanad Éireann|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 Irish general election|1948 general election]].<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=1882|title=Gerard Sweetman|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=19 August 2012|archive-date=12 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612065751/http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=1882|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 1948 general election returned the [[Government of the 13th Dáil|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 [[Government of the 15th Dáil|second inter-party government]] took office in June 1954 with Sweetman promoted to [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]].

In Professor Tom Garvin's review of the 1950s 'News from a New Republic', he comes in for praise as a moderniser and Garvin places him with a cross-party group including [[Daniel Morrissey]] of Fine Gael and William Norton of the Labour Party as well as Seán Lemass of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda

Sweetman also served as a member of [[Kildare County Council]], including a term as chairman of the Council in the late 1940s.

==Ministerial career==
At the age of 45 years old, Sweetman inherited a national economy that was in crisis. Unemployment was at 421,000;<ref name=budget_1955>{{cite web|url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0150/D.0150.195505040056.html |work=Houses of the Oireachtas |title=Financial Statement – Budget, 1955 |date=4 May 1955 |access-date=19 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910083007/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0150/D.0150.195505040056.html |archive-date=10 September 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> over 100,000 people had left agriculture during the previous 8 years;<ref name=budget_1955/> the country was seeing a level of emigration unknown since the famine.

Sweetman differed in his thinking from the protectionist policies espoused by [[Éamon de Valera]] since the 1930s. Rather than focusing on a self-sufficient Ireland, Sweetman enacted policies that would make Ireland a net exporter.

In his first budget in 1955, he introduced a scheme whereby a tax exemption was provided for exported goods. He also established the [[Prize Bond]]s programme as a means of reducing the national debt. This debt was worrying in the mid-1950s. Two major bond issues were placed during Sweetman's tenure, for £20 million and £12 million. These were large sums at a time when an average worker entered the tax net with an annual salary of just £533.<ref name=budget_1955/>

On 30 May 1956, Sweetman's greatest initiative as minister was the appointment of a 39-year-old civil servant named [[T. K. Whitaker|Ken Whitaker]] to the position of Secretary-General of the [[Department of Finance (Ireland)|Department of Finance]]. This was a revolutionary step, as it did not follow the convention of promotion based on time served. Whitaker's time at the department has been seen as instrumental in the economic development of the country, and a 2001 [[RTÉ]] contest named him 'Irishman of the 20th Century'. Whitaker continued in office under the Fianna Fáil government elected in 1957, and his seminal "First Programme for Economic Expansion" published in 1958 laid the foundations for economic growth in the 1960s.

==Later career==
For Sweetman, this brief period of government would not be repeated, as he would remain in opposition for the rest of his life. Upon the retirement of [[Richard Mulcahy]] as leader of Fine Gael, Sweetman played a significant role in [[James Dillon (Fine Gael politician)|James Dillon's]] campaign to become the party's latest leader, fending off both [[John A. Costello]] and [[Liam Cosgrave]], opposing the former due to his failure to commit to the role full-time and the latter due to antagonism between the two while in government.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Browne |first=Vincent |title=The Magill Book of Irish Politics |publisher=Magill Publications |year=1981 |isbn=0950765902 |location=Dublin |pages=230}}</ref>

During the 1960s, Fine Gael itself witnessed a major transformation. This internal revolution culminated in the 'Just Society' document produced by [[Declan Costello]]. The distinctly social democrat flavour of the document was very much at odds with Sweetman's deeply conservative views. However, the support of [[Liam Cosgrave]] and [[Garret FitzGerald]] ensured that the document was adopted as the party's manifesto for the [[1965 Irish general election|1965 general election]], with Sweetman, Dillon and the rest of the conservative wing capitulating after realising they were outnumbered.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gallagher |first1=Michael |title=The Irish Labour Party in Transition 1957 - 1982 |date=1982 |publisher=Gill and Macmillan Ltd |location=Dublin |isbn=07190-08662 |pages=54-55}}</ref> Nevertheless, he succeeded in having most of the policy gutted prior to the election.<ref name=":0" /> 

Following Dillon's retirement as leader after his defeat in the [[1965 Irish general election]], Sweetman aided his former rival, Liam Cosgrave, in becoming Fine Gael's new leader to prevent Declan Costello from becoming a credible challenger. However, the favour was not repaid, with Cosgrave removing Sweetman as Fine Gael's spokesperson on Finance, moving him to Agriculture, having been dissuaded from removing him from the front bench entirely by Dillon and [[Tom O'Higgins]].<ref name=":0" />

While both O'Higgins and FitzGerald exercised considerable influence on the new leader, Sweetman became the dominant influence on Cosgrave following the former's excellent performance as director of elections during the [[1966 Irish presidential election]]. This influence led to Sweetman successfully convincing Cosgrave to oppose [[proportional representation]] during the [[1968 Irish constitutional referendums]], which put him at odds with the rest of his party who successfully campaigned against the amendment, severely damaging his credibility.<ref name=":0" />

In his last election, in June 1969, Sweetman was again returned to the Dáil for a seventh successive term. The [[1969 Irish general election|election]] left only a handful of seats between Fianna Fáil and the opposition. However, Sweetman was far from pleased with this result, looking to replace Cosgrave with a new leader. According to Magill, his plan was to install [[Thomas J. Fitzpatrick (Cavan politician)|Tom Fitzpatrick]], a moderate figure acceptable to both Fine Gael's liberal and conservative wings, as an interim leader, until Sweetman's preferred candidate, [[John M. Kelly (politician)|John Kelly]] was elected to the Dáil.<ref name=":0" />

==Death==
Sweetman was known for his high-speed style of driving. On 28 January 1970, while returning from a business meeting on the continent, he had travelled down to [[Silvermines]] in [[County Tipperary]] for another business meeting, and it was on the return journey that he lost control of his vehicle near [[Monasterevin]], [[County Kildare]] and died.

Speaking at the first session of the Dáil that followed, Taoiseach [[Jack Lynch]] offered a sincere and moving tribute to the late Deputy. He spoke of a TD who "commanded respect and attention", especially in matters of finance; a "gifted parliamentarian who loved the cut-and-thrust of debate" and who was as "fair an opponent as he was formidable". He noted a career cut short: "Through his tragic and untimely death, Dáil Éireann and Irish public life have suffered a grievous loss. That loss will be felt all the more because of his great impact on, and contribution to, Irish political life".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0244/D.0244.197002040038.html |work=Houses of the Oireachtas |title=Death of Member: Expression of Sympathy |date=4 February 1970 |access-date=19 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910083117/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0244/D.0244.197002040038.html |archive-date=10 September 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Seán MacEntee]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]
       |years  = 1954–1957}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[James Ryan (Irish politician)|James Ryan]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Kildare (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{Members of the 4th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 5th Seanad}}
{{7th Government of Ireland}}
{{Ministers for Finance of Ireland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetman, Gerard}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish lawyers]]
[[Category:Fine Gael TDs]]
[[Category:Fine Gael senators]]
[[Category:Irish solicitors]]
[[Category:Members of the 13th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 14th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 15th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 16th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 17th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 18th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 19th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the 5th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the Blueshirts]]
[[Category:Ministers for finance of Ireland]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Dublin]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Kildare]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]]
[[Category:People educated at Downside School]]
[[Category:Lawyers from County Dublin]]
[[Category:Agricultural Panel senators]]