years in the political wilderness following the phone-tapping scandal. He was elected to the European Parliament as an MEP for Connacht–Ulster at the 1984 election. Following the 1987 general election, MacSharry was returned to the Dáil. He resigned his European Parliament seat when he was appointed again as Minister for Finance in Haughey's new government. During his second tenure in charge of finance, MacSharry committed himself to bringing order to the public finances and the poor economic situation. His ruthless cutting of state spending earned him the nickname Mack the Knife. During this time he came to be identified as Haughey's heir apparent as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader. MacSharry, however, had no such aspirations and had actually wanted to leave politics by the time he was forty-five. He was now fifty and had achieved some of the highest offices in the government of Ireland. In 1988, MacSharry's loyalty to Haughey was rewarded when he was appointed European Commissioner. As a result of this he resigned his Dáil seat, ending his domestic political career. MacSharry was the first European Commissioner for Agriculture to work out a meaningful compromise on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 1992. The MacSharry reforms marked the turning point between the old CAP policy, and the new, although many other reforms followed his. Retirement from politics Following the completion of his term as European Commissioner, MacSharry retired from politics to pursue business interests. He is currently a director on the boards of a variety of companies including Bank of Ireland and Ryanair Holdings. In 1999, he was appointed chairman of Eircom plc. MacSharry is also a member of the Comite d'Honneur of the Institute of European Affairs. MacSharry is a non-executive director of Irish Life and Permanent and receives pension payments of €88,936 every year. Private life MacSharry was married to Elaine and the couple had six children. One of his sons, Marc MacSharry, has served as a Councillor on Sligo County Council, as a Senator in Seanad Éireann representing the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 2002 to 2016, and as a TD for the constituency of Sligo–Leitrim since 2016. His nephew Tom MacSharry was a Councillor on Sligo Borough Council, 2004–09, and served as Mayor in 2006–07. See also Families in the Oireachtas References External links 1938 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fianna Fáil MEPs Fianna Fáil TDs Irish European