Ray Burke
Ray Burke (born September 30, 1943) is a former Fianna FÃÂáil politician.Burke was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at O'Connell Schools and became an auctioneer. He was elected to DÃÂáil ÃÂÃÂireann in 1973, following in the footsteps of his father P. J. Burke. He held his seat until his resignation almost twenty-five years later.
In 1977 Burke was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce. He supported George Colley in the Fianna FÃÂáil leadership contest of 1979 but was still retained in his government position by the new Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. In 1980 he was appointed Minister for the Environment, a position he held until 1980 and again in the short-lived government of 1982. Between 1987 and 1989 he served as Minister for Energy. After this he was appointed Minister for Industry and Commerce and Communications.
Following the formation of the Progressive Democrats-Fianna FÃÂáil Coalition in 1989 he became Minister for Justice and Communications. When Albert Reynolds came to power in 1992 Burke was sacked from the Cabinet. In 1997 Fianna FÃÂáil was back in power and Burke was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs.
His tenure was short-lived due to allegations that he received ÃÂã80,000 from a property developer. Burke resigned from the Cabinet after just four months. This allegation lead to the setting up of the Planning Tribunal chaired by Mr Justice Feargus Flood. In an interim report of the subsequent Flood Tribunal he was unambiguously judged by Flood to be "corrupt". He is currently being investigated by the Garda Siochana (Irish police) and the Criminal Assets Bureau and is expected to face prosecution and a possible prison sentence.