| Trevor Sargent | |
|---|---|
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office November 1992 – February 2011 |
|
| Constituency | Dublin North |
| Minister of State for Food and Horticulture | |
| In office 20 June 2007 – 23 February 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Brendan Smith |
| Succeeded by | Ciarán Cuffe |
| Leader of the Green Party | |
| In office 6 October 2001 – 17 July 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | John Gormley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 July 1960 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Spouse(s) | Heidi Bedell (separated) |
| Occupation | Former Teacher |
| Religion | Church of Ireland |
| Website | Official website |
Trevor Sargent (born 26 July 1960) is an Irish Green Party politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North constituency from 1992 to 2011.[1] He was leader of the Green Party from 2001 to 2007.
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A member of the Church of Ireland, he is a fluent Irish speaker and has made appearances on the Irish-language TV channel TG4; he also made an appearance on The Podge and Rodge Show on 10 April 2006. Sargent, along with Irish Green Party founder Christopher Fettes, is an Esperantist. He is separated from his wife Heidi Bedell.[2]
A committed environmentalist since the early 1980s, Trevor Sargent first became politically active when he joined the Green Party in 1982. However, it was not 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. Sargent alleged that Fianna Fáil councillor Don Lydon put him in a headlock and attempted to snatch the cheque from him.[3] This is one of the incidents which eventually led to the creation of planning tribunals to look into planning matters in Dublin County Council. (See Mahon Tribunal)
At the 1992 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann and retained his seat at the 1997, 2002 and 2007 general elections, topping the poll in 2002.[4] Having been elected to Dáil Éireann he resigned his county council seat in keeping with Green party policy on dual mandates. This policy has since been adopted by the Irish 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 6 October 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.
Following the 2007 general election the Green Party entered talks on forming a coalition government with Fianna Fáil. A programme for government was agreed after over a week of negotiations, which was ratified by 86% by a special conference of the Green Party membership following passionate endorsements of the deal by Sargent and the rest of the Green leadership. However Sargent announced that he would resign his position as leader of the party and would not accept a seat in cabinet, as he had promised he would not lead the party into government with Fianna Fáil before the election. It was a surprise announcement and Sargent was generally lauded for such a demonstration of integrity. He was succeeded as leader by John Gormley. Instead of entering cabinet he was appointed Minister of State for Food and Horticulture by Bertie Ahern on 20 June 2007.
He served as the Minister of State for Food and Horticulture from June 2007 to February 2010. He resigned as Minister when he admitted unlawfully contacting Gardaí about a criminal case involving a constituent.[5] He lost his seat at the 2011 general election, along with all the other Green Party TDs.
| Oireachtas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New seat in constituency |
Green Party Teachta Dála for Dublin North 1992–2011 |
Succeeded by Clare Daly (Socialist Party) |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by New position |
Leader of the Irish Green Party 2001–2007 |
Succeeded by John Gormley |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Brendan Smith |
Minister of State for Food and Horticulture 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Ciarán Cuffe |
|
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