Conor Cruise O'Brien

Conor Cruise O'Brien (Irish Ó Briain Conchúr crus; born November 3, 1917 in Dublin, † December 18, 2008 in Howth ) was an Irish politician and journalist. O'Brien, who could look back on a career as a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance and later the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was one of the leading intellectuals of the Irish Labour Party in the 1960s.

Life

After his official activity O'Brien worked for the United Nations and was 1960/1961 sent by UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld as a special representative in the fledgling Democratic Republic of Congo.

After that O'Brien devoted his academic career and eventually returned to Ireland. In the elections of 1969 he went to the electoral district of North - East Dublin and won the Irish Labour Party a seat in Dáil Éireann. He remained until his election defeat in 1977 Teachta Dala. During this time, O'Brien was a member of the first Irish delegation in the European Parliament and was from 1 January 1973 for two months up to the Irish general election as Member of Parliament. He was then on March 14, 1973 to May 25, 1977 Minister for Posts and Telegraphs in the Fine Gael / Irish Labour Party coalition government of Liam Cosgrave. Two months after his election defeat in 1977, he was elected to Seanad Éireann, where he served until his resignation on 13 June 1979.

From 1978, O'Brien worked as chief editor of the British newspaper The Observer and this post for the next three years. The acronym GUBU was brought by O'Brien in circulation.

O'Brien was an outspoken opponent of republicanism and was from 1996 the Northern Ireland United Kingdom Unionist Party of Robert McCartney. In 2005 he returned to the Labour Party.

Family

O'Brien was married in second marriage with the writer Máire Mhac to tSaoi and had with her two adopted children. From his first marriage he had three children.

Works

• To Katanga and back, German version of Margaret Carroux: My mission in Katanga. Unveiling of global political backgrounds, Munich 1963.
• Murderous Angels (Acting), Boston, 1968, German translation by Dagobert Lindlau: Murderous Angels, Reinbek 1971.