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William Norton

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William Norton
Tánaiste
In office
2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957
TaoiseachJohn A. Costello
Preceded bySeán Lemass
Succeeded bySeán Lemass
In office
18 February 1948 – 13 June 1951
TaoiseachJohn A. Costello
Preceded bySeán Lemass
Succeeded bySeán Lemass
Leader of the Labour Party
In office
19 July 1932 – 2 March 1960
Preceded byThomas J. O'Connell
Succeeded byBrendan Corish
Minister for Social Welfare
In office
18 February 1948 – 13 June 1951
TaoiseachJohn A. Costello
Preceded bySeán Lemass
Succeeded bySeán Lemass
Minister for Industry and Commerce
In office
2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957
TaoiseachJohn A. Costello
Preceded bySeán Lemass
Succeeded bySeán Lemass
Teachta Dála
In office
February 1932 – October 1961
ConstituencyKildare
Teachta Dála
In office
February 1926 – June 1927
ConstituencyDublin County
Personal details
Born
William Peter Norton

(1900-11-02)2 November 1900
Abbotstown, Dublin, Ireland
Died4 December 1963(1963-12-04) (aged 63)
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Resting placeGlasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
SpouseHelen Norton (m. 1922; his death 1963)
Children6
Alma materTrinity College, Dublin

William Peter Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from 1951 to 1948 and Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1954 to 1957. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1926 to 1927 and from 1932 to 1961.[1]

Norton was born in Dublin in 1900. He joined the postal service in 1916. By 1920 he was a prominent member in the trade union movement in Ireland. From 1924-48 he served as secretary of the Post Office Workers' Union.[citation needed]

He was elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin County at a by-election in 1926, but was defeated at the June 1927 general election. In Professor Tom Garvin's review of the 1950s 'News from a New Republic', he comes in for praise as a moderniser. Garvin places him with a cross party group including Gerard Sweetman and Daniel Morrissey of Fine Gael as well as Seán Lemass of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda. He represented Kildare from 1932 until his death.[2]

In 1932 he became leader of the Labour Party. In the First Inter-Party Government (1948–1951), Norton became Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare. In the Second Inter-Party Government (1954–1957), Norton served as Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce.

William Norton died in Dublin in 1963. His son Patrick Norton served as a TD for Kildare from 1965 to 1969.

See also

References

  1. ^ "William Norton". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Mr. William Norton". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Social Welfare
1948–1951
Succeeded by
Preceded by Tánaiste
1948–1951
Succeeded by
Minister for Industry and Commerce
1954–1957
Preceded by Tánaiste
1954–1957
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Labour Party
1932–1960
Succeeded by