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Former Irish leader Haughey dies

Beloved among followers, detested by enemies, Charles Haughey weathered myriad scandals in four terms as prime minister.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 14, 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland - Charles Haughey, a four-term prime minister whose career was haunted by ethical questions, died Tuesday (June 13, 2006) after a decade-long battle with prostate cancer. He was 80.

The government ordered flags at half-staff and planned a state funeral Friday for Mr. Haughey, who died at his mansion north of Dublin with his wife and children by his bedside.

During his political career, Mr. Haughey struggled to keep secret the mysterious sources of his wealth.

He solicited more than $10-million from Ireland's top businessmen, a practice later exposed by taxpayer-funded investigations into his implausibly lavish lifestyle, which included horses, helicopters, an art collection, a yacht and his own island.

Mr. Haughey tried to stop the investigations into his wealth, denied receiving donations until evidence proved he was lying and never acknowledged granting favors in return for the cash.

But even Mr. Haughey's most ardent detractors conceded Tuesday he was a uniquely charismatic figure with a magnetic lust for life. As leader of Ireland's Fianna Fail party from 1979 to 1992, he became known as "the great survivor" because of his ability to bounce back from myriad scandals.

"He radiated an aura associated in the public mind with a Renaissance potentate - with his immense wealth, his retinue of loyal retainers, his Florentine penchant for faction fighting, his patronage of the arts, his distinctive personality, at once crafty and conspiratorial, resilient and resourceful, imaginative yet insecure," the historian J.J. Lee wrote in 1989.

His legions of loyalists were expected to travel from throughout Ireland to view his body in a Dublin church Thursday.

"He had an immense ability to get things done, and he inspired great loyalty among many of his followers both inside and outside Fianna Fail," said Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

President Mary McAleese said Mr. Haughey "weathered many storms and faced more than his share of drama and controversy."

Standing 5 feet 7, with a hawkish nose and swept-back mane of hair, Mr. Haughey towered over his followers, who saw "The Boss" as a lovable rogue, courageous and visionary. Enemies detested him and deemed him the source of every ill in Irish politics.

The first government he led, from 1979 to 1981, nearly bankrupted the country. The second collapsed in 1982 after a murder suspect was found hiding in the home of Mr. Haughey's attorney general.

Returning to power again in 1987, Mr. Haughey scoffed at his critics: "I've been around so long now, they know I don't eat babies."

[Last modified June 14, 2006, 07:12:18]