T. K. Whitaker

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Dr. T.K. Whitaker (born December 1916), is a former Irish economist and public servant.

Thomas Kenneth Whitaker was born in 1916 in Rostrevor, County Down. His Catholic mother, Jane O'Connor, hailed from Ballyguirey East, Labasheeda, Co Clare, whilst his father was a local man. Due to his parents adherence to the Ne Temere decree, he was educated by the Christian Brothers in Drogheda and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, economics and Celtic studies. Whitaker also received a M.Sc.Econ degree by private study from the University of London. He was awarded first place in four civil service exams: clerical officer (1934), executive officer (1935), assistant inspector of taxes (1937), and administrative officer (1938).

Whitaker progressed rapidly through the ranks and was appointed Secretary at the Department of Finance at the age of thirty-nine, becoming the youngest ever person to hold this position. His surprise appointment took place at a time when Ireland's economy was in deep depression. Economic growth was non-existent, inflation apparently insoluble, unemployment rife, living standards low and emigration at a figure not far below the birth rate. Whitaker believed that free trade, with increased competition and the end of protectionism, would become inevitable and that jobs would have to be created by a shift from agri-culture to industry and services. He formed a team of officials within the department and together they produced a detailed study of the economy, culminating in a plan recommending policies for improvement. The plan was accepted by the government and was transformed into a White Paper which became known as the Programme for Economic Expansion, and somewhat unusually this was published in November 1958. The programme became a landmark in Irish economic history, primarily for its bold new ideas. This brought the stimulus of foreign investment into the Irish economy. Subsequently, he steered Ireland’s programme of trade liberalisation and structural reform in the 1960s. Economic growth accelerated as a result. In 1973, Ireland acceded to the EU in a process to which he played an instrumental role as Governor of the Irish Central Bank.

His influence was not confined to all things economic, however. In 1965 he liased with Jim Malley, private secretary to the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, and was able to successfully organise the unprecedented meeting between Seán Lemass and Terence O'Neill. Whitaker retired from the Department of Finance in 1969. But he remained policy advisor to Jack Lynch on matters concerning Northern Ireland. As a result, a document entitled 'The Constitutional Position of Northern Ireland in IV parts' was created, which analysed the historical development of the situation in Northern Ireland, the pro-partition view, the anti-partition view, and possible reconciliation between North and South.

In 1977, the then Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Jack Lynch nominated Whitaker as a member of the 14th Seanad Éireann from 1977 to 1982, where he served as an independent (i.e. non-party) senator. In 1981 he was nominated to the 15th Seanad by the Fine Gael Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, where he served until 1982.

Whitaker also served as Chancellor of the National University of Ireland from 1976 to 1996, and from 1995–1996 he chaired the Constitution Review Group, an independent expert group established by the government in 1995. It published its report in July 1996.^[1]

In 2001, an RTÉ programme voted Whitaker the "Irishman of the 20th Century", beating Michael Collins and other revolutionaries in the process.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External references

• UCD Archive, [1]
• University Observer, [2]
• National University of Ireland, [3]
• Central fisheries Board, Landing salmon 2003, [4]

This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database