Editing Ray Burke (Irish politician) (section)

==Career==
Burke was elected to [[Dáil Éireann]] at the [[1973 Irish general election|1973 general election]] for the [[Dublin County North (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County North]] constituency, succeeding his father [[Patrick Burke (Dublin politician)|Patrick Burke]], who had held the seat for 29 years.<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3031|title=Ray Burke|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=14 March 2011|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330205501/https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3031|url-status=live}}</ref> Ray Burke represented this constituency and its successor [[Dublin North (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North]] until his resignation almost twenty-five years later.

After Fianna Fáil's landslide victory at the [[1977 Irish general election|1977 general election]], Burke was appointed [[Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment|Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce]]. He supported [[George Colley]] in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest of 1979, but after Colley's opponent [[Charles Haughey]] won out, Haughey retained Burke in his government position. Burke was subsequently a staunch and vocal defender of Haughey during several internal heaves against the latter's leadership of the party. In October 1980, Burke was promoted to [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for the Environment]], a position he held until June 1981 and again in the short-lived Fianna Fáil government of 1982. After Fianna Fáil returned to power at the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]], Burke served as Minister for Energy, where he made controversial changes to the legislation governing oil and gas exploration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/sale-of-the-centurythe-500-deal-for-irelands-gas-and-oil/|title=Sale of the century: the £500 deal for Ireland's gas and oil|date=7 March 2013|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520111546/https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/sale-of-the-centurythe-500-deal-for-irelands-gas-and-oil/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1988, he was appointed Minister for Industry, Commerce and Communications.

Following the formation of the Fianna Fáil–[[Progressive Democrats]] coalition in 1989, he was appointed as [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|Minister for Justice]] and [[Minister for Posts and Telegraphs|Minister for Communications]] in the government of Charles Haughey. When [[Albert Reynolds]] succeeded Haughey in 1992, he did not re-appoint Burke to the cabinet. Following the [[1997 Irish general election|1997 general election]], Fianna Fáil was back in office, and Burke was appointed [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister for Foreign Affairs]], by Taoiseach [[Bertie Ahern]].