Trevor Sargent

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Trevor Sargent (born July 1960) is a senior Irish politician. He is a Teachta Dála for Dublin North and has been leader of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas since 2001.

A committed environmentalist since the early 1980s, Trevor Sargent first became politically active when he joined the Green Party in 1982. However, it wasn't until 1989 that the Green Party made an impact on national politics, winning its first seat in Dáil Éireann through Roger Garland. In that same year Sargent stood for election to the European Parliament, but was unsuccessful. Two years later in 1991 he was elected to Dublin County Council.

He is well known for waving in the council chamber a cheque received in the post from a builder who was seeking planning permission for a housing development. When he asked the other members whether any of them had also received cheques, he was assaulted by a number of his fellow Councillors. This is one of the incidents which eventually led to the creation of planning tribunals to look into planning matters in Dublin County Council.

In 1992 he was elected to Dáil Éireann and retained his seat in the 1997 and 2002 General Elections. Having been elected to Leinster House he immediately resigned his county council seat in keeping with Green party policy on dual mandates. This policy has since been adopted by the government and is now compulsory. Having been the only Green Party member of the Dáil between 1992 and 1997, Sargent was joined in 1997 by John Gormley, and in 2002 by an additional four Green Party TDs.

At a special "Leadership Convention" in Kilkenny on October 6, 2001 Sargent was elected the first official leader of the Green Party. He was re-elected to this position in 2003 and again in 2005.

[edit] Trivia

Sargent, along with Irish Green Party founder, Christopher Fettes, is an esperantist [1].

Preceded by Newly created seat in constituency	Green Party Teachta Dála for Dublin North 1992-	Succeeded by Current Incumbent
Preceded by Newly created position	Leader of the Irish Green Party 2001-