Charles McCreevy, (born 1949) is a senior Irish politician. He was first elected as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1977 and at each election since then. He has served as Minister for Social Welfare (1992-1993), Minister for Tourism & Trade (1993-1994). McCreevy has been the Minister for Finance since 1997.

Charlie McCreevy was born in Kildare in September 1949. He was educated locally and qualified as an accountant from University College Dublin. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1977 and has been elected at every election since. In 1979 he supported Charles Haughey in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest. Haughey easily beat George Colley. He soon changed his opinion of the new leader and became an outspoken critic of him. This lead to McCreevy's expulsion from Fianna Fáil in 1982.

In 1992 Albert Reynolds became Taoiseach and McCreevy was appointed Minister for Social Welfare. The following year he became Minister for Tourism and Trade. In 1997 Fianna Fáil returned to power and McCreevy became Minister for Finance. Throughout his political career he has advocated cutting income tax and government spending. In 1999 he announced the biggest give-away Budget in the history of the state. However, the government was forced to do a U-turn on some of the more controversial elements of it.

In 2004, McCreevy was selected to replace David Byrne as Irelands European Commissioner. This means that he will have to relinquish his seat in both the cabinet and the Dáil as a whole. It is expected his son, Charlie McCreevy, Jr. will run for Fianna Fail in the Kildare North constituency where McCreevy Sr's seat is.

Cabinet Positions