Jim Higgins (Irish politician)

Jim Higgins ( born May 4, 1945 in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo ) is an Irish politician.

Higgins studied education at University College Galway. He then became a teacher. His political career began in 1979 when he was elected to the Mayo County Council, to whom he should belong to 1995. In 1987, Higgins was first elected for Fine Gael in the Dáil Éireann after his previous candidacies June 1981 and February and November 1982 were unsuccessful. As a Teachta Dala he was on 10 February 1995 to May 23, 1995 Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and from 24 May 1995 to 26 June 1997 Minister of State of the Taoiseach and Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence. In the 2002 elections, Higgins could not defend his seat in Dáil Éireann. Instead, however, he managed to be re-elected to the Seanad Éireann. This he had heard already from June 1981 to February 1982 and from 1983 to 1987. Here, he was nominated in 1981 by the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. In 1983 he went through a successful election in the Seanad Éireann.

June 2004 Higgins was elected to the European Parliament and retired in July 2007 as a result of the Seanad Éireann from, for he no longer contested the election. As a member of the European Parliament he is a member of the Group of the European People's Party and European Democrats.

Activities as an MEP

Higgins is a member of the Bureau of the European Parliament, the Quaestors, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, in the Delegation for relations with South Africa and the Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament. As a deputy, he is in fisheries committee, the Committee on Petitions and the Delegation for relations with Japan.