View source for Mark Clinton

{{Short description|Irish politician (1915–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Mark Clinton, 1975 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Clinton in 1975
| office              = [[Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Minister for Agriculture]]
| taoiseach           = [[Liam Cosgrave]]
| term_start          = 14 March 1973
| term_end            = 5 July 1977
| predecessor         = [[Jim Gibbons (Irish politician)|Jim Gibbons]]
| successor           = Jim Gibbons
| office1             = [[Member of the European Parliament]]
| term_start1         = 1 July 1979
| term_end1           = 20 May 1989
| constituency1       = [[Leinster (European Parliament constituency)|Leinster]]
| office2             = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start2         = [[1977 Irish general election|June 1977]]
| term_end2           = [[1981 Irish general election|June 1981]]
| constituency2       = [[Dublin County West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County West]]
| term_start3         = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]]
| term_end3           = [[1977 Irish general election|June 1977]]
| constituency3       = [[Dublin County North (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County North]]
| term_start4         = [[1961 Irish general election|October 1961]]
| term_end4           = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]]
| constituency4       = [[Dublin County (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1915|2|7|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kells, County Meath]], Ireland
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2001|12|23|1915|2|17|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Blackrock, Dublin]], Ireland
| party               = [[Fine Gael]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Dorothy Gleeson|1952}}
| children            = 7
| alma_mater          = {{Ubl|Salesian Agricultural College|Albert Agricultural College}}
}}
'''Mark A. Clinton''' (7 February 1915 – 23 December 2001) was an Irish [[Fine Gael]] politician who served as [[Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Minister for Agriculture]] from 1973 to 1977. He served as [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) for the [[Leinster (European Parliament constituency)|Leinster]] constituency from 1979 to 1989. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) from 1961 to 1981.<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Mark-A-Clinton.D.1961-10-11/|title=Mark Clinton|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=17 February 2010|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107225048/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Mark-A-Clinton.D.1961-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Clinton was born to a farming family at [[Moynalty]], [[Kells, County Meath]], on 7 February 1915.<ref name="dib">{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/clinton-mark-a9787|title=Clinton, Mark|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=Clavin|first=Terry|access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref> He was known as an accomplished [[Gaelic football]]er in his youth and played on the [[Meath county football team|Meath county team]] defeated by [[Kerry county football team|Kerry]] in the [[1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final]]. He served as a member of [[Dublin County Council]] from 1955 and represented various [[County Dublin]] constituencies as a Fine Gael [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) from 1961 until his retirement from [[Dáil Éireann]] in 1981.<ref name="elecs_irl">{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2675|title=Mark Clinton|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=17 February 2010|archive-date=24 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224010315/https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2675|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, he joined the [[Government of Ireland|Irish Government]] of [[Liam Cosgrave]] as [[Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries]] in the [[Government of the 20th Dáil|National Coalition]]. Clinton is best remembered as the Agriculture Minister who negotiated [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]'s entry into the [[European Union]]'s [[Common Agricultural Policy]], a development which brought billions of pounds to Irish farming and agri business. He served in government until 1977 and retired from the Dáil in 1981. Clinton also served in the [[European Parliament]] for the [[Leinster (European Parliament constituency)|Leinster]] constituency from 1979 to 1989 and his political experience was recognised by his election as vice-president of that assembly.

Mark Clinton died in a [[Dublin]] nursing home, on 23 December 2001, aged 86.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{MEP|1725|Mark Clinton}}

{{s-start}} 
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Jim Gibbons (Irish politician)|Jim Gibbons]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = {{nowrap|[[Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries]]}}
       |years  = 1973–1977}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Jim Gibbons (Irish politician)|Jim Gibbons]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Dublin County (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{Dublin County North (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{Dublin County West (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{14th Government of Ireland}}
{{Ministers for Agriculture of Ireland}}
{{Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (1979–1984)}}
{{Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (1984–1989)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Mark}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Fine Gael MEPs]]
[[Category:Fine Gael TDs]]
[[Category:Irish sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Meath inter-county Gaelic footballers]]
[[Category:Members of the 17th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 18th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 19th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 20th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 21st Dáil]]
[[Category:MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1984–1989]]
[[Category:MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984]]
[[Category:Ministers for agriculture of Ireland]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Meath]]