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Michael O'Leary (Irish: Micheál Ó Laoire; 8 May 1936 – 11 May 2006) was an Irish senior politician and barrister. He was Minister for Labour and while leader of the Labour Party became Minister for Energy and Tánaiste. He later became a member of the Fine Gael party.

Born in Cork, the son of a publican, O'Leary was educated at Presentation College, University College Cork and Columbia University, New York, King's Inns On returning to Ireland, he became involved in Labour politics and was employed as Education Officer for the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU). In this rôle he was instrumental in establishing the Universities Branch, affiliated to Dublin North-Central Constituency, bringing together Dublin University Fabian Society and UCD Labour students.

O'Leary was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour candidate for Dublin North Central in the 1965 general election. His agent was Bob Mitchell, Chairman of Dublin University Fabian Society, who could claim credit in a dirty campaign for picking up transfers to squeeze out the Labour front-runner on the 11th Recount.

When first elected to the Dáil, O'Leary encouraged the Labour Party to take a more left-wing stance in its policies. He was initially strongly opposed to the idea of a coalition with Fine Gael but after the 1969 general election he believed that there was a need for a new approach. When Labour and Fine Gael formed the National Coalition government following the 1973 election he was appointed Minister for Labour.

In 1977 he was narrowly defeated by Frank Cluskey for the leadership of the party. In 1981 Cluskey resigned as Labour leader when he lost his Dáil seat and O'Leary was elected unanimously to succeed him. In 1979 O'Leary was elected to the European Parliament.

In the short-lived Fine Gael/Labour government of 1981 to 1982 O'Leary became Tánaiste and Minister for Energy. Shortly after the government defeat in the Feb 1982 general election he resigned as leader of the Labour party and joined Fine Gael, subsequently being elected a TD for that party in the Dublin South West constituency in the November 1982 election. He was kept out of cabinet office by his former Labour colleagues.

In 1985, O'Leary introduced a private member's bill on divorce which forced the government into holding the 1986 divorce referendum.

When the Progressive Democrats were formed in 1985 he considered joining.

He did not contest the 1987 election and afterwards he moved back to Cork and practised as a barrister. He unsuccessfully contested the 1992 general election in Cork North Central and received about 2% of the valid poll.

He was appointed a District Court judge in 1997 by the Fine Gael–Labour–Democratic Left coalition government.

O'Leary died in France in May 2006 following a drowning accident in a swimming pool. He was on holiday, having retired as a judge just days earlier.

• Profile on ElectionsIreland.org
• RTE News - Death

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