Coordinates	8°′″N124°18′″N
name	Anglo-Irish Treaty
long name	Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland
image width	180px
date signed	6 December 1921
location signed	London, England
date effective	6 December 1922
condition effective	Creation of the Irish Free State
signatories	Irish Republic United Kingdom
languages	Irish, English
wikisource	}}

The Anglo-Irish Treaty (), officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. It established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire and also provided Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, an option to opt out of the Irish Free State, which it exercised.

The treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921 by representatives of the British government (which included David Lloyd George, who was head of the British delegates) and envoys of the Irish Republic who claimed plenipotentiary status (i.e., negotiators empowered to sign a treaty without reference back to their superiors, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith). In accordance with its terms the Treaty needed to be and was ratified by the members elected to sit in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and the British Parliament. Dáil Éireann for the de facto Irish Republic also ratified the Treaty (narrowly). Though the treaty was duly ratified, the split led to the Irish Civil War, which was ultimately won by the pro-treaty side.

The Irish Free State created by the Treaty came into force on 6 December 1922 by royal proclamation after its constitution had been enacted by the Provisional parliament of Southern Ireland (also styled the Third Dail) and the British parliament.

Content

Among the Treaty's main clauses were that:

British forces would withdraw from most of Ireland.

Ireland was to become a self-governing dominion of the British Empire; a status shared by Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand and The Union of South Africa.

As with the other dominions, the British monarch would be the head of state of the Irish Free State (''Saorstát Éireann'') and would be represented by a Governor General (See Representative of the Crown).

Members of the new free state's parliament would be required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the Irish Free State. A secondary part of the Oath was to "be faithful to His Majesty King George V., his heirs and successors by law, in virtue of the common citizenship".

Northern Ireland (which had been created earlier by the Government of Ireland Act) would have the option of withdrawing from the Irish Free State within one month of the Treaty coming into effect.

If Northern Ireland chose to withdraw, a Boundary Commission would be constituted to draw the boundary between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

Britain, for its own security, would continue to control a limited number of ports, known as the Treaty Ports, for the Royal Navy.

The Irish Free State would assume responsibility for its part of the Imperial debt.

The Treaty would have superior status in Irish law, i.e., in the event of a conflict between it and the new 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State, the treaty would take precedence.

Negotiators

The negotiators included: :British side :*David Lloyd George, Prime Minister. :*Lord Birkenhead, Lord Chancellor. :*Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies. :*Austen Chamberlain, Lord Privy Seal. :*Gordon Hewart, Attorney General for England and Wales.

:Irish side :*Arthur Griffith (delegation chairman), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. :*Michael Collins, Secretary of State for Finance. :*Robert Barton, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. :*Eamonn Duggan :*George Gavan Duffy

(Robert Erskine Childers, the author of the ''Riddle of the Sands'' and former Clerk of the British House of Commons served as one of the secretaries of the Irish delegation. Tom Jones was one of Lloyd George's principal assistants, and described the negotiations in his book ''Whitehall Diary''.) Notably, the Irish President Éamon de Valera did not attend.

Winston Churchill had a dual role in the British cabinet concerning the Treaty. Firstly as Secretary for War hoping to end the Irish War of Independence in 1921; then in 1922 as Secretary for the Colonies (which included Dominion affairs) he was charged with implementing it.

Status of the Irish plenipotentiaries

Éamon de Valera sent the Irish plenipotentiaries to the 1921 negotiations in London with several draft treaties and secret instructions from his cabinet. Pointedly the British side never asked to see their formal accreditation with the full status of plenipotentiaries, but considered that it had invited them as elected MPs: "''...to ascertain how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British Empire can best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations''". This initial invitation in August had been delayed for over a month by a correspondence in which De Valera argued that Britain was now negotiating with a sovereign state; a position Lloyd George continually denied.

In the meantime, De Valera had been elevated to President of the Republic on 26 August, primarily to be able to accredit plenipotentiaries for the negotiations, as is usual between sovereign states. On 14 September all the Dáil speakers unanimously commented that the plenipotentiaries were being sent to represent the sovereign Irish Republic, and accepted De Valera's nominations without dissent.

On 18 September Lloyd-George recalled that "From the very outset of our conversations [in June 1921] I told you that we looked to Ireland to own allegiance to the Throne, and to make her future as a member of the British Commonwealth. That was the basis of our proposals, and we cannot alter it. The status which you now claim in advance for your delegates is, in effect, a repudiation of that basis. I am prepared to meet your delegates as I met you in July, in the capacity of ‘chosen spokesmen’ for your people, to discuss the association of Ireland with the British Commonwealth."

On 7 October De Valera signed the letter of accreditation as "President" on behalf of the "Government of the Republic of Ireland" (see image), but the letter was never requested in the usual diplomatic manner. The original invitation was finally repeated unaltered by Lloyd-George on 11 October, and was tacitly accepted as such by the Irish side. Both the Irish and British sides knew that, in the event of failure, the truce agreed in July 1921 would end and the war would inevitably resume, a war that neither side wanted. Three months had passed by with nothing agreed.

The ambiguous status of the plenipotentiaries was to have unforeseeable consequences within the Nationalist movement when it divided over the Treaty's contents in 1921–22. Subsequently the anti-treaty side felt that the plenipotentiaries from the existing sovereign republic had somehow been persuaded to agree to accept much less. The pro-treaty side was to argue that after 11 October the negotiations had been conducted on the understanding that, even though the British were not negotiating with a sovereign state, the agreement was a significant first step towards Irish sovereignty. Further, the pro-treaty side argued that the status of plenipotentiary as granted by the Dáil had given them full powers to handle negotiations as they saw fit, without the need to refer back to Dublin on every point.

Negotiations

Days after the Truce that ended the Anglo-Irish War, De Valera met Lloyd George in London four times in the week starting 14 July. Lloyd George sent his initial proposals on 20 July that were very roughly in line with the Treaty that was eventually signed. This was followed by months of delay until October, when the Irish delegates set up headquarters in 22 Hans Place, Knightsbridge.

The first two weeks of the negotiations were spent in formal sessions. Upon the request of Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins, the two delegations began informal negotiations, in which only two members of each negotiating team were allowed to attend. On the Irish side, these members were always Collins and Griffith, while on the British side, Austin Chamberlain always attended, though the second British negotiator would vary from day to day. In late November, the Irish delegation returned to Dublin to consult the cabinet according to their instructions, and again on 3 December. Many points still had to be resolved, mainly surrounding the form of an oath to the monarch, but it was clear to all the politicians involved by this stage that a unitary 32-county Irish republic was not on offer.

When they returned, Collins and Griffith hammered out the final details of the treaty, which included British concessions on the wording of the oath and the defence and trade clauses, along with the addition of a Boundary Commission to the treaty and a clause upholding Irish unity. Collins and Griffith in turn convinced the other plenipotentiaries to sign the treaty. The final decisions to sign the Treaty was made in private discussions at 22 Hans Place at 11.15am on 5 December 1921. Negotiations closed by signing on at 2.20am 6 December 1921.

Michael Collins later claimed that at the last minute Lloyd George threatened the Irish delegates with a renewal of "''terrible and immediate war''" if the Treaty was not signed at once, but this was not mentioned as a threat in the Irish memorandum about the close of negotiations, merely a reflection of the reality. Robert Barton noted that: :''At one time he [Lloyd George] particularly addressed himself to me and said very solemnly that those who were not for peace must take full responsibility for the war that would immediately follow refusal by any Delegate to sign the Articles of Agreement.''

Éamon de Valera called a cabinet meeting to discuss the treaty on 8 December, where he came out against the treaty as signed. The cabinet decided by 4 votes to 3 to recommend the Treaty to the Dáil on 14 December.

The contents of the Treaty divided the Irish Republic's leadership, with the President of the Republic, Éamon de Valera, leading the anti-Treaty minority. The Treaty Debates were difficult but also comprised a wider and robust stock-taking of the position by the contending parties. Their differing views of the past and their hopes for the future were made public. The focus had to be on the constitutional options, but little mention was made of the economy, nor of how life would now be improved for the majority of the population. Though Sinn Féin had also campaigned to preserve the Irish language, very little use was made of it in the debates. Some of the female TDs were notably in favour of continuing the war until a 32-county state was established. Much mention was made of '700 years' of British occupation. Personal bitterness developed; Arthur Griffith said of Erskine Childers: "I will not reply to any damned Englishman in this Assembly" and Cathal Brugha reminded everyone that the position of Michael Collins in the IRA was technically inferior to his.

The main dispute was centred on the status as a dominion (as represented by the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity) rather than as an independent republic, but partition was a significant matter for dissent. Ulstermen like Sean MacEntee spoke strongly against the partition clause. The Dáil voted to approve the Treaty but the objectors refused to accept it, leading eventually to the Irish Civil War. McEntee was among their leaders.

Ratification

Under the terms of the treaty, ''three'' separate parliaments had to approve the document. #The British House of Commons did so on 16 December 1921 by a vote of 401 to 58. On the same day the House of Lords voted in favour by 166 to 47. #So too did Dáil Éireann after long debate on 7 January 1922 by vote of 64 to 57. #In addition the treaty required the approval of a third body, the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, which constituted the "lawful" parliament of the twenty-six county state called Southern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (of its 128 members, 124, having been elected, had formed the "Second Dáil" in 1921, the body which had approved the new Treaty in December 1921). Though few Irish people recognised it as a valid or legal entity, it too needed to give approval in order to satisfy British Constitutional theory, which it did overwhelmingly. Anti-Treaty members stayed away, meaning only pro-treaty members and the four elected unionists (who had never sat in Dáil Éireann) attended its meeting in January 1922.

On 11 July 1924, the treaty was registered at the League of Nations by the Irish Free State.

Dáil debates

The Dáil debates lasted much longer and exposed the diversity of opinion in Ireland. Opening the debate on 14 December, President de Valera stated his view on procedure: :"''it would be ridiculous to think that we could send five men to complete a treaty without the right of ratification by this assembly. That is the only thing that matters. Therefore it is agreed that this Treaty is simply an agreement and that it is not binding until the Dáil ratifies it. That is what we are concerned with.''" However when the Treaty was ratified by the Dáil on 7 January, he refused to accept the vote as final.

Secret sessions were held on 14–17 December, and a.m. on 6 January, to keep the discord out of the press and the public arena. During the first of these De Valera also produced his ideal redraft, which was not in most respects radically different from the signed agreement, but which was probably not acceptable to the British side as the differing points had already been explored.

On 15 December Robert Barton was questioned by Kevin O'Higgins about his notes on Lloyd George's statement about signing the agreement or facing a renewal of war: "''Did Mr. Lloyd George single Mr. Barton out as the left wing of the delegation and did he say, “The man who is against peace may bear now and forever the responsibility for terrible and immediate war?"''" Barton replied: "''What he did say was that the signature and the recommendation of every member of the delegation was necessary, or war would follow immediately and that the responsibility for that war must rest directly upon those who refused to sign the Treaty''". This was seized upon by opponents of the Treaty as a convenient proof that the Irish delegates had been subjected to duress at the last minute, and "''terrible and immediate war''" became a catch-phrase in the debates that followed. The next day De Valera took up this point: "''... therefore what happened was that over there a threat of immediate force upon our people was made. I believe that that document was signed under duress and, though I have a moral feeling that any agreement entered into ought to be faithfully carried out, I have no hesitation in saying that I would not regard it as binding on the Irish nation.''"

The crucial private Dáil session on 6 January was informed that it could not be told about a private conference of 9 TDs that had reached a compromise agreement on almost all points the night before. Most TDs wanted at least to be told what matters were still not agreed on, and from this point onwards the pro-Treaty members insisted that all sessions should be held in public.

The public sessions lasted 9 days from 19 December to 7 January. On 19 December Arthur Griffith moved: "''That Dáil Éireann approves of the Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, signed in London on 6 December 1921.''"

By 6 January, the day before the final vote, de Valera acknowledged the deep division within his cabinet: "''When these Articles of Agreement were signed, the body in which the executive authority of this assembly, and of the State, is vested became as completely split as it was possible for it to become. Irrevocably, not on personalities or anything of that kind or matter, but on absolute fundamentals.''"

The Second Dáil formally ratified the Treaty on 7 January 1922 by a vote of 64 to 57. De Valera resigned as President on 9 January and was replaced by Arthur Griffith, on a vote of 60 to 58. On 10 January De Valera published his second redraft, known generally as "Document No. 2".

Griffith, as President of the Dáil, worked with Michael Collins, who chaired the new Provisional Government of Ireland, theoretically answerable to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, as the Treaty laid down. In December 1922 a new Irish constitution was enacted by the Third Dáil, sitting as a Constituent Assembly, providing the legal basis for the Irish Free State.

At "a meeting of members of the Parliament elected for constituencies in Southern Ireland", (though not the House of Commons of Southern Ireland – see this), as provided for in the Treaty to, did so unanimously on 14 January 1922.

Results

The split over the Treaty eventually led to the Irish Civil War (1922–23). In 1922 its two main Irish signatories, President Griffith and Michael Collins, both died. Griffith died partially from exhaustion; Collins, at the signing of the Treaty, had said that in signing it, he may have signed his "actual death warrant"– and he was correct: he was assassinated by anti-Treaty republicans in ''Béal na mBláth'' in August 1922, barely a week after Griffith's death. Both men were replaced in their posts by W. T. Cosgrave. Two of the other members of the delegation, Robert Barton and Erskine Childers sided against the Treaty in the civil war. Childers, head of Anti-Treaty propaganda in the conflict, was executed by the Free State for possession of a pistol in November 1922.

The Treaty's provisions relating to the monarch, the governor-general, and the treaty's own superiority in law were all deleted from the Constitution of the Irish Free State in 1932, following the enactment of the Statute of Westminster by the British Parliament. By this Statute, the British Parliament voluntarily relinquished its ability to legislate on behalf of dominions without their consent. Thus, the Government of the Irish Free State was free to change any laws previously passed by the British Parliament on their behalf.

Nearly 10 years earlier, Michael Collins had argued that the Treaty would give "the freedom to achieve freedom". De Valera himself acknowledged the accuracy of this claim both in his actions in the 1930s but also in words he used to describe his opponents and their securing of independence during the 1920s. "They were magnificent", he told his son in 1932, just after he had entered government and read the files left by Cosgrave's Cumann na nGaedheal Executive Council.

Although the British government of the day had, since 1914, desired home rule for the whole of Ireland, the British Parliament believed that it could not possibly grant complete independence to all of Ireland in 1921 without provoking a massacre of Ulster Catholics at the hands of their heavily armed Protestant Unionist neighbours. At the time, although there were Unionists throughout the country, they were concentrated in the northeast and their parliament first sat on 7 June 1921. An uprising by them against home rule would have been an insurrection against the "mother county" as well as a civil war in Ireland. (See Ulster Volunteer Force). Dominion status for 26 counties, with partition for the six counties that the Unionists felt they could comfortably control, seemed the best compromise possible at the time.

In fact, what Ireland received in dominion status, on par with that enjoyed by Canada, New Zealand and Australia, was far more than the Home Rule Act 1914, and certainly a considerable advance on the Home Rule once offered to Charles Stewart Parnell in the nineteenth century. Even de Valera's proposals made in secret during the Treaty Debates differed very little in essential matters from the accepted text, and were far short of the autonomous 32-county republic that he publicly claimed to pursue.

The solution that was agreed had also been on Lloyd George's mind for years. He met Tim Healy, a senior barrister and former nationalist MP, in late 1919 to consider his options. Healy wrote to his brother on 11 December 1919: ''"Lloyd George said that, if he could get support for a plan whereby the six counties would be left as they are, he would be ready to give the rest of the country Dominion Home Rule, free from Imperial taxation, and with control of the Customs and Excise."'' Healy considered that the idea had foundered on de Valera's insistence on having an all-Ireland republic, months before the War of Independence became seriously violent in mid-1920.

Though Lloyd George is often portrayed as having tricked the Irish delegation, he also had a long experience of Irish politics. He had supported the 1893 Home Rule Bill and the slow process of the 1914 Home Rule Act, and liaised with the Irish Convention members in 1917–18. By 1921 his coalition government depended on a large Conservative majority, and collapsed during the Chanak crisis in October 1922.

See also

Oath of Allegiance (Ireland)

Anglo-Irish Treaty Dáil vote

Irish Free State

Irish Civil War

Other treaties between Britain and Ireland:

* Sunningdale Agreement (1973)

* Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985)

* Belfast Agreement (1998)

* St Andrews Agreement (2006)

Further reading

Lord Longford, ''Peace By Ordeal'' (Cape 1935)

Tim Pat Coogan, ''Michael Collins'' (1990) (ISBN 0-09-174106-8)

Tim Pat Coogan, ''De Valera'' (1993) (ISBN 0-09-175030-X)

Winston Churchill, ''The World Crisis; the Aftermath'' (Thornton 1929) pp. 277–352.

The Treaty Debates on-line

Selection of Irish correspondence from 1921 online

Notes and references

External links

Anglo-Irish Treaty– Full text of the treaty from the National Archive of Ireland.

Contemporaneous record of the debate on the Treaty in Dáil Éireann.

Irish 1921 diplomatic correspondence on-line

Recordings of College Historical Society debate on the Treaty, featuring Éamon Ó Cuív, grandson of Éamon de Valera

Ireland 1798–1921

Imaging Ireland's Independence: The debates over the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921– Jason K. Knirck.

Category:History of Ireland 1801–1923 Category:Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom Category:British constitutional laws concerning Ireland Category:1921 in Ireland Category:1921 in the United Kingdom Category:1921 in Northern Ireland Category:Irish Free State Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom Category:Peace treaties of Ireland Category:Peace treaties of the United Kingdom Category:Treaties concluded in 1921 Category:Treaties entered into force in 1922 Category:Interwar treaties

ca:Tractat Angloirlandès da:Anglo - Irish Treaty de:Anglo-Irischer Vertrag es:Tratado Anglo-Irlandés eu:Itun anglo-irlandarra fr:Traité anglo-irlandais ga:Conradh Angla-Éireannach gl:Tratado Angloirlandés ko:영국-아일랜드 조약 hr:Anglo-irski sporazum it:Trattato Anglo-Irlandese nl:Anglo-Iers Verdrag ja:英愛条約 no:Den anglo-irske traktat nn:Den anglo-irske traktaten pl:Traktat (Irlandia) pt:Tratado Anglo-Irlandês ru:Англо-ирландский договор sco:Anglo-Erse Treaty sv:Anglo-irländska avtalet uk:Англо-ірландський договір zh:英爱条约

Coordinates	8°′″N124°18′″N
name	Charlie Bird
birthname	Charles Brown Bird
birth date	September 09, 1949
birth place	Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland
education	Sandymount High School
occupation	Journalist
spouse	Mary O'Connor (1974 – 1998)
children	2
nationality	Irish
credits	RTÉ News
url	}}

Charles "Charlie" Bird (born 9 September 1949) is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. He was Chief News Correspondent with RTÉ News and Current Affairs until January 2009. He took up the role of Washington Correspondent, but prematurely returned to his earlier post in Ireland in June 2010.

Early life

Bird was born in Sandymount, Dublin in 1949. He was educated at Sandymount High School.

In the late 1960s, Bird took an active interest in far left politics, being a member of Young Socialists. In this role, along with Tariq Ali of the International Marxist Group, he attended the funeral of Peter Graham of Saor Éire (1967-1975) who was assassinated on 25 October 1971 in an internecine dispute. A photograph of the funeral shows Ali and Bird giving a clenched fist salute at the grave. Charlie Bird was recruited into RTÉ by Eoghan Harris in the mid 1970s.

In the early 1970s he joined Official Sinn Féin and in 1973 was their director of elections in Dublin South Central.

Career

For many years in the 1990s, Bird was the only point of contact between RTÉ and the Provisional IRA. He witnessed at first hand the ceasefires and the subsequent twists and turns of the peace process. In 1998, Bird and his colleague George Lee broke the story about tax evasion at National Irish Bank.

On the international front, Bird reported on both Gulf Wars and was in Syria for the release of Brian Keenan. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from University College Dublin in 2002.

Bird was attacked during the Dublin Riots of 25 February 2006, suffering a fractured cheekbone, soft tissue damage and bruising. He later spoke of his personal experience - and of the way the attackers knew who he was and called him an "Orange Bastard" - on RTÉ News broadcasts later that evening. His attack was witnessed by Sunday Independent journalist Daniel McConnell who reported on the event the next day. Bird's appearance on the six o'clock news was criticised by the ''Sunday Times'' in its edition the following day, as it felt ''Bird makes himself the story''. In 2008, a man pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting Bird.

He presented the ''Charlie Bird Explores'' series in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In this collection of documentary programmes, he visited the Amazon, the Ganges, and the Arctic.

On 7 October 2008 it was announced he was to take up the post of RTÉ News and Current Affairs Washington correspondent. His first report as Washington correspondent was on RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock about US Airways Flight 1549. RTÉ received 30 complaints after he "failed to wear a suit and tie" on RTÉ News: Six One during coverage of the death of Ted Kennedy.

Bird provided coverage from the 2010 Haiti earthquake in January 2010. A two-part documentary about his first year in the United States was broadcast later that month on RTÉ One. In it he spoke of his "madness" in moving to the country and his lack of contacts and recognition in Washington DC. At the end of the second programme, he announced he would vacate his Washington post. Early viewing figures suggested that the two programmes got viewing averages of 473,000 and 563,000 people. RTÉ cited Bird's “popularity” when asked about the large audience.

Bird returned to Ireland to take up his previous job of Chief News Correspondent with RTÉ in June 2010. He covered a high profile leadership challenge of Enda Kenny on his return. The Washington role was filled by Richard Downes. During August 2010, Bird presented ''The Marian Finucane Show''.

References

External links

Webchat and biography with Charlie Bird

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:People from County Dublin Category:RTÉ newsreaders and journalists

Coordinates	8°′″N124°18′″N
name	Sean Fitzpatrick
birth name	Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick
nickname	Fitzy, Scene
birth date	June 04, 1963
birth place	Auckland, New Zealand
allblackno	871
allblackid	278
height
weight
ru position	Hooker
ru currentclub	''retired''
super14	Blues
super14years	1996–1997
super14caps	25
super14points	(10)
ru province	Auckland
ru provinceyears	1986-1997
ru provincecaps	127
ru provincepoints	(60)
ru nationalyears	1986–1997
ru nationalteam	New Zealand
ru nationalcaps	92
ru nationalpoints	(55)
relatives	Brian Fitzpatrick
school	Sacred Heart College
university	}}

Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM (born 4 June 1963 in Auckland) is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick.

Early life

Sean Fitzpatrick's high school education was at Sacred Heart College, Auckland. As a primary school student he attended at Mt Carmel Primary (Auckland).

Early rugby career

A product of the powerful Auckland provincial side, Fitzpatrick made his international debut as one of the "Baby Blacks" in the 1986 Test series in France. Although most of the regular starting fifteen for New Zealand had been suspended following the unauthorised "Cavaliers" tour of South Africa, the All Blacks won, and a number of new faces made their mark on the selectors. Despite this start, Fitzpatrick still went in to the inaugural Rugby World Cup as second choice to captain Andy Dalton. However, Dalton had to withdraw from the early stages of the tournament due to injury, and although he recovered in time for the finals, Fitzpatrick kept his place in the team, leaving scrum-half David Kirk to skipper the side to victory against France in the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

Captain of the All Blacks

In 1992 Fitzpatrick was awarded the captaincy of the All Blacks, a position he held until his retirement from Test Rugby. A first Test match win against the Springboks since their return from isolation, plus series victories over a World XV and Ireland were dampened by the loss of the Bledisloe Cup in Australia.

The biggest event of the rugby calendar in 1993 was the British Lions tour to New Zealand. The first test went narrowly to the All Blacks, with Grant Fox kicking a last minute 50-metre penalty to steal a win. This was avenged in the Second Test by the Lions with their highest-scoring Test win in New Zealand. In the third test, with Fitzpatrick faced the prospect of becoming only the second ever All Blacks captain to lead his team to a series defeat against the Lions. The side were 10–0 down at one point, but recovered to take the match convincingly and with it the series.

Unwanted history could not be avoided on the end of season tour to Britain however, as England picked up a win over New Zealand at Twickenham. 1994 was another up and down season for the All Blacks. South Africa were defeated 2–0 with one game drawn. However, France caused a major upset by winning their series in New Zealand 2–0, the first and only European team so far to achieve this.

By the time of the 1995 World Cup New Zealand had assembled a more formidable side. Ian Jones, Jeff Wilson, Andrew Mehrtens and Zinzan Brooke had proved themselves as world-class players, and Jonah Lomu would spectacularly announce himself during the tournament. New Zealand were most pundit's pre-tournament favourites. They duly reached the final against South Africa, who had stuttered through the early stages, while the All Blacks had convincingly defeated all opponents, the most remarkable being a semi-final against England, in which Lomu scored four tries. However Francois Pienaar’s side rose to the occasion, and won a close game in extra time with a Joel Stransky drop goal. It was a crushing disappointment for the All Blacks, although they would not have to wait long to exact revenge.

After storming through the first Tri Nations Series unbeaten, the All Blacks embarked upon a further three-match series in South Africa. No New Zealand side had ever won a series in South African before, but under Fitzpatrick in 1996 they won the first two tests of the three match series. The 1996 All Blacks were one of the great teams in the history of the game, and the series win cemented their captain’s place among the true greats. Continued success with Auckland in the NPC and the Auckland Blues in the new Super 12 continued in the following seasons, but it was clear that Fitzpatrick’s days in the game were numbered. He was carrying an injury in the autumn of 1997, yet such was his status that coach John Hart thought it would be good for the other players to include him in the party. He made his 92nd and final test appearance on 29 November 1997 as a substitute in the 42–7 victory against Wales at Wembley.

Legacy

Fitzpatrick was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit by the then Governor General of New Zealand Sir Michael Hardie Boys in 1997. He remains an icon in New Zealand and is highly respected in South Africa. Such is Sean Fitzpatrick’s standing that it is believed he could walk into any coaching job in world rugby. So far however he has rejected any such offers and is currently using his formidable leadership and motivational skills in running www.whatwecanbe.com, a successful motivational speaking business.

He is also an analyst for the BBC and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

In an attempt to capitalise on their sponsorship of the All Blacks in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Telecom NZ enlisted Sean Fitzpatrick to front their "Backing Black" sexual abstinence campaign. It was greeted with near-universal disdain, bringing embarassment for both Telecom NZ and Sean Fitzpatrick, damaging Fitzpatrick's reputation in his native New Zealand. The campaign was withdrawn within 24 hours of details of it being leaked to the press.

External links

http://www.whatwecanbe.com

Profile at ''CitySpeakers International''

Category:1963 births Category:New Zealand international rugby union players Category:Auckland rugby union players Category:Blues rugby union players Category:International Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Category:Living people Category:Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Category:New Zealand Roman Catholics Category:New Zealand rugby union players Category:New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame inductees Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent Category:People from Auckland Category:Rugby union hookers Category:Former students of Sacred Heart College, Auckland

de:Sean Fitzpatrick fr:Sean Fitzpatrick it:Sean Fitzpatrick ja:ショーン・フィッツパトリック

Coordinates

8°′″N124°18′″N

{{infobox officeholder | name

Albert Reynolds | image | imagesize 150px | office Taoiseach | 1blankname Tánaiste | 1namedata John WilsonDick Spring | term_start 11 February 1992 | term_end 15 December 1994 | predecessor Charles Haughey | successor John Bruton | order2 Leader of Fianna Fáil | term_start2 6 February 1992 | term_end2 19 November 1994 | predecessor2 Charles Haughey | successor2 Bertie Ahern | order3 Minister for Finance | term_start3 24 November 1988 | term_end3 7 November 1991 | predecessor3 Ray MacSharry | successor3 Bertie Ahern | order4 Minister for Industry and Commerce | term_start4 10 March 1987 | term_end4 24 November 1988 | predecessor4 Michael Noonan | successor4 Ray Burke | order5 Minister for Industry and Energy | term_start5 9 March 1982 | term_end5 14 December 1982 | predecessor5 Michael O'Leary | successor5 John Bruton | order6 Minister for Transport | term_start6 25 January 1980 | term_end6 30 June 1981 | predecessor6 George Colley | successor6 Patrick Cooney | order7 Minister for Posts and Telegraphs | term_start7 12 December 1979 | term_end7 25 January 1980 | predecessor7 Pádraig Faulkner | successor7 Patrick Cooney | birth_date November 04, 1932 | birth_place Roosky, County Roscommon, Ireland | party Fianna Fáil | spouse Kathleen Reynolds | children 7 | religion Roman Catholicism | profession Politician / Businessman | nationality Irish | signature }}

Albert Reynolds (born 4 November 1932), served as Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the fifth leader of Fianna Fáil during the same period.

Reynolds was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Longford–Westmeath in 1977, and was re-elected at each election until his retirement in 2002. He previously served as Minister for Finance (1988–91), Minister for Industry and Commerce (1987–1988), Minister for Industry and Energy (1982), Minister for Transport (1980–81) and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1979–81).

Early life

Albert Reynolds was born in Roosky, County Roscommon on 4 November 1932. He was educated at Summerhill College in County Sligo, and found work as a clerk in the 1950s with Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the state transport service. Reynolds left what many would consider to be a "job for life" in the state company and moved into the showband scene, owning a number of dance halls in his local area. He became wealthy from this venture during the 1960s when dance halls proved extremely popular and invested his money in a number of businesses including a pet food company, a bacon factory, a fish exporting operation and hire purchase company. Reynolds also had business interests in local newspapers and a cinema. Although his dance hall empire required late nights Reynolds was a traditional family man and had a happy home with his wife Kathleen and their seven children. Reynolds abstained from alcohol. He developed a network of business contacts both nationally and internationally.

Early political career

Reynolds became interested in politics at the time of the Arms Crisis in 1970, a hugely controversial episode in modern Irish history which saw two Cabinet ministers, Neil Blaney and Charles Haughey, sacked from the government over an alleged attempt to import arms to Northern Ireland. The two men were subsequently acquitted in court but Reynolds then decided to embark on a political career. Reynolds stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 1977 general election for the Longford–Westmeath constituency. The election was a landslide victory for Fianna Fáil, with the party receiving a twenty-seat parliamentary majority. Reynolds was just one of a number of TDs elected to Dáil Éireann on that day, however, at 44 years of age Reynolds was considered a late starter.

Reynolds remained a backbencher until 1979. In that year pressure was mounting on the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch to step down. He became a member of the so-called "gang of five" with Jackie Fahey, Mark Killilea, Jnr, Tom McEllistrim and Seán Doherty which aligned itself to Charles Haughey and supported him in the subsequent leadership contest. Reynolds' affable personality helped him to coax a number of backbenchers into supporting Haughey, who went on to beat George Colley in the leadership struggle and become Taoiseach. Reynolds was rewarded for his staunch loyalty by joining the government as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. He took on the Minister for Transport portfolio in 1980, making his brief one of the largest and most wide-ranging in the government. As Minister for Transport Reynolds was involved in a bizarre incident in which an Aer Lingus plane was hi-jacked with the chief demand for the safe return of the aircraft and its passengers being the revealing of the religious secret, the Third Secret of Fatima. The incident was resolved in Paris with no injuries.

Fianna Fáil lost power in 1981 but regained it again in 1982. Reynolds returned to government as Minister for Industry and Energy. That government fell in late 1982 and Reynolds was back on the opposition benches. During the 1982–83 period the Fianna Fáil leader, Charles Haughey, faced three motions of no-confidence. Reynolds gave him his support at all times and Haughey survived, defeating his opponents and critics within the party.

In 1987 Fianna Fáil returned to government and Reynolds was appointed Minister for Industry and Commerce, one of the most senior positions in the cabinet. The position seemed even more important as the government's top priority at this time was economic recovery. In 1988 the Minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry, became Ireland's European Commissioner. Reynolds succeeded MacSharry in the most important department in the government.

The 1989 general election resulted in Fianna Fáil taking the unprecedented move of entering into a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. Reynolds headed the Fianna Fáil negotiation team along with another Minister, Bertie Ahern. A programme for government was finally agreed, almost a month after the general election, and Reynolds returned as Minister for Finance in a coalition government that he described as a ''"temporary little arrangement."''

The failure to get the Fianna Fáil candidate, Brian Lenihan, elected as President of Ireland added to the pressure on Haughey's leadership. In a speech in County Cork, Reynolds announced that if a vacancy arose in the position of party leader he would contest it. This was a clear and open revolt on Haughey's leadership. A number of TDs, including some members of the cabinet also began to grow disillusioned with Haughey and they began to look for a successor. Reynolds was the most popular and his profile was enhanced by his so-called "Country & Western" group of TDs who began to agitate within the party on his behalf. In November 1991 a relatively unknown rural TD, Seán Power, put down a motion of no confidence in Haughey. Reynolds and his staunchest of supporters, Pádraig Flynn, announced their support for the motion and were immediately sacked from the government. When the vote was taken the party re-affirmed its support in Haughey and it looked as if Reynolds political career was finished.

Haughey's victory was short-lived, as a series of political errors would lead to his demise as Taoiseach. Controversy erupted over the attempted appointment of Jim McDaid as Minister for Defence, which saw him resign from the post before he had been officially installed. Worse was to follow when Seán Doherty, the man who as Minister for Justice had taken the blame for the phone-tapping scandal of the early 1980s, went on RTÉ television and said that Haughey had known and authorised the phone-tapping. Haughey denied this but the Progressive Democrats members of the government stated that they could no longer continue in government with Haughey as Taoiseach. Haughey told Desmond O'Malley, the PD leader, that he intended to retire shortly but wanted to choose his own time of departure. O'Malley agreed to this and the government continued.

On 30 January 1992 Haughey officially retired as leader of Fianna Fáil at the parliamentary party meeting. He remained as Taoiseach until 11 February when Albert Reynolds succeeded him having easily defeated Mary O'Rourke and Michael Woods in the Fianna Fáil leadership election.

Taoiseach 1992–1994

Reynolds created a storm when he appointed his new cabinet. Eight members of Haughey's old cabinet, including such long-standing figures as Ray Burke, Mary O'Rourke and Gerry Collins, were instantly dismissed. These three ministers had been loyal to Haughey. Nine of the twelve junior ministers, many of whom were also Haughey loyalists, were also sacked. The ministers who were sacked along with Reynolds at the end of 1991 where all re-instated. Reynolds promoted several long running critics of Haughey, like David Andrews, Séamus Brennan, and Charlie McCreevy into senior ministerial positions. Reynolds also promoted a number of younger TDs from rural constituencies like Noel Dempsey, and Brian Cowen, to cabinet position. Bertie Ahern, possibly one of Haughey's biggest supporters, remained as Minister for Finance due to his agreement with Reynolds not to challenge him for the leadership.

From Reynolds's first day as Taoiseach, he had to deal with the X Case incident, which proved very divisive. Reynolds, a natural pragmatist tried to find a sensible middle ground position and seemed to alienate both the media and the Church. This was when the Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, refused to allow a 14-year old girl to travel to Britain for an abortion. The incident strained relations between the government parties of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. A referendum on abortion was eventually held, with the government suffering an embarrassing defeat on the third strand of the referendum which would make abortion illegal except when the life of the mother was in danger. The referendum and the wording of the constitutional change between the two government parties caused tensions, however, the government remained intact.

A tribunal of enquiry into irregularities in the beef industry, referred to as the "Beef Tribunal", was established to examine the "''unhealthy''" relationship between Charles Haughey and the beef baron Larry Goodman. However this revealed to the public a substantial conflict of opinion between the two party leaders. At the tribunal Desmond O'Malley severely criticised Reynolds, in his capacity as Minister for Industry and Commerce, for an export credit scheme. When Reynolds gave evidence he referred to O'Malley as "dishonest." This enraged the Progressive Democrats leader and the party voted against itself and Fianna Fáil, in a motion of no confidence and the government fell.

The election campaign was a disaster for Fianna Fáil. The world was in recession, Haughey was still in people's memories, and the Gulf War dominated international news. It certainly did not help to have Saddam Hussein in the news, at the same time as the Beef Tribunal was discussing Reynolds' attempts to sell beef to the Iraqi regime. The fact that Reynolds seemed prepared to issue risky state funded export insurance, effectively subsidising the Goodman business empire which now accounted for 12% of national GDP, when the country was economically in deep trouble, caused great distrust in the electorate. Support for the party fell by 5%, and it was clear that the public sided with Reynolds over O'Malley, concerning the allegations made at the Tribunal. The Labour Party, under Dick Spring were riding high in opinion polls and pursued a campaign independent of its traditional coalition partners Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil had received its worst election results since 1927. Fine Gael lost 9 seats while the Labour Party had its best result with 33 seats. Eventually negotiations began to form another coalition government , the expected Fine Gael-Labour Coalition fell through after weeks of negotiations because of Spring's desire to be a rotating Taoisach with John Bruton of Fine Gael. A Fianna Fáil–Labour Party government came to power with Reynolds returning as Taoiseach and Dick Spring of Labour becoming Tánaiste.

One of Reynolds's main achievements during his term as Taoiseach was the advancement in the peace process regarding Northern Ireland. Piecemeal negotiations had gone on during 1993 between Reynolds and the British Prime Minister, John Major. Reynolds had a very good relationship with Major. On 15 December 1993 the Joint Downing Street Declaration was signed in London.

In September 1994 Reynolds was infamously stood up by Russian president Boris Yeltsin whose plane landed at Shannon Airport but who failed to emerge to meet the waiting Irish dignatories. The incident made headlines around the world as it was alleged that Yeltsin was too drunk to appear although a Russian official said that Yeltsin was unwell and Yeltsin himself later stated that he had overslept.

The agreement between the two governments was a high point for Reynolds, however the Government was soon to face more pressure. Reynolds' Minister of Finance, Bertie Ahern, issued a tax amnesty for people who had outstanding tax bills unpaid and undeclared, provided they make some declaration of their previous income. This created considerable media disquiet, and Spring felt the need to respond. On 9 June 1994 Fianna Fáil lost two seats in the Mayo West by-election and the Dublin South Central by-election to the opposition Fine Gael and Democratic Left. This placed real pressure on Reynolds, as he could no longer depend on Spring to remain in government.

The report on the Beef Tribunal was published in July 1994, and Labour had threatened to leave the government if Reynolds was criticised. Reynolds claimed that report "fully vindicated" the policies and decisions of Reynolds as being in the State's interest . Reynolds was alleged to have juxtaposed and misquoted sections of the report in issuing a rebuttal before the report became public. However, Spring was extremely annoyed that the report was not considered by the cabinet first. This caused tension between Reynolds and Spring.

Reynolds, however, remained involved in discussion with Northern nationalist parties. Eventually along with John Hume, and Gerry Adams did manage to induce the IRA to call a complete ceasefire on 31 August 1994.

Reynolds had decided to re-appoint the Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, when the government had been formed in 1992. Spring had not objected at the time, despite the fact that Spring had serious reservations concerning Whelehan's devout Catholic faith. When the position of president of the High Court became available, Reynolds proposed Whelehan. At this stage there were allegations surfacing that Whelehan had been less than keen to prosecute a serial child abuser, Fr. Brendan Smyth, due to its implications on the accountability of certain prominent members of the Catholic Hierarchy. It was later revealed that Whelehan, in his capacity as Attorney General, had mishandled an attempt to extradite Smyth to Northern Ireland, where he faced criminal charges. The fact that this was covered on the British television station, Channel 4, when the Irish state broadcaster was mute, and Irish newspapers effectively talking around the issue, because of libel law, seemed to make it even more embarrassing for the country. Spring was trying to decide how to prevent the appointment, in the face of a strong commitment by Reynolds. In this context, Spring led his ministers out of a cabinet meeting and mulled over the consequences and what the next step should be. The coalition looked finished, but Reynolds still held out for the chance to patch things up. Realising that his bluff had been called, Reynolds was forced to go before Dáil Éireann and indicate that if he had known 'then' what he 'knew now' about the incompetent handling of the case by the AG's office he would not have appointed Whelehan to the judicial post. However Reynolds was damaged politically, having appeared more interested in holding on to power, at all costs. Spring decided that he could not go back into government with Reynolds. Subsequently the Labour Party resigned from government. Reynolds realised that nothing could be done to save the government, and he resigned as Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil. He could have asked President Mary Robinson to dissolve the Dáil and call new elections, though Robinson has since stated she would have refused such a request, thereby forcing Reynolds to resign.

On 19 December 1994 the Minister for Finance, Bertie Ahern, was unanimously elected the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil. Reynolds's favoured successor, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, withdrew from the leadership contest on the morning of the vote, and Reynolds returned to the opposition backbenches of Dáil Éireann.. While it was initially thought that Ahern would become Taosieach and the coalition with Labour would be retained, Labour instead opted to go into coalition with Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil thus found themselves in opposition against the Rainbow Coalition

Reynolds greatest legacy was the de-escalation of the conflict in Northern Ireland, from the nationalist side. Whereas both his predecessors had troubled relationships with British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Reynolds was more pragmatic in his dealings with the new British Prime Minister, John Major. Reynolds also managed to negotiate considerable benefits from the European Union regional aid budget, in the aftermath of Danish rejection, of the Maastricht Treaty. Reynolds introduced a second tax amnesty, which allowed some tax evaders to get away with tax evasion and fraud, which provided some limited benefit to the national finances.

In November 2007, it was alleged at the Mahon Tribunal, that Reynolds, while on Government business in New York, collected a substantial sum of money for his Fianna Fáil party, that did not get fully credited to the party. On the same trip, it emerged in the tribunal that Reynolds had the Government jet make an additional and unscheduled five hour stopover in the Bahamas.

Post-Taoiseach period

Reynolds remained on as a TD following his resignation. At the beginning of 1997 he was thinking of retiring from politics at the next general election, which would have to be held during that year. Bertie Ahern, encouraged him to run and offered him the position of "peace envoy" to Northern Ireland and his support as a candidate for the presidential election. Fianna Fáil won the election, however, Ahern reneged on this promise to Reynolds due to poor election results in his constituency and the change in the political situation in Northern Ireland. However, Reynolds was still interested in being a candidate for the presidency, along with two other candidates, Michael O'Kennedy and Mary McAleese. In a meeting of ministers the Taoiseach gave a typically ambiguous speech which seemed to encourage his Cabinet to support McAleese. Although Renyolds won the first round of voting with a comfortable margin, supporters of O'Kennedy backed McAleese. McAleese was successful and went on to become the eighth President of Ireland. Reynolds was humiliated by Ahern and many of the ministers he had sacked when he came to power in 1992. He retired from politics at the 2002 general election after 25 years as a TD. Reynolds has said that ''I don't bear any grudges over Ahern''.

Reynolds was involved in a long-running libel action taken against British newspaper The Sunday Times on foot of an article published in 1994. It alleged that Reynolds had deliberately and dishonestly misled the Dáil regarding matters in connection with the Brendan Smyth affair that had brought down the coalition government. The newspaper claimed a defence of qualified privilege with regard to these assertions on foot of their supposed benefit to the public, but a High Court jury found in favour Reynolds in 1996. However, the jury recommended that no compensation at all be paid to the former Taoiseach. The judge subsequently awarded punitive damages of only one penny in this action, leaving Reynolds with massive legal costs, estimated at £1 million. A subsequent court of appeal decision in 1998 declared Reynolds had not received a fair hearing in his High Court action and the case continued to be heard in the House of Lords. This case led to the recognition under British law (and later introduction into Irish law as the "defence of fair and reasonable publication") of the so-called Reynolds defence of qualified privilege for publishers against whom libel actions regarding defamatory comments made in media publications are being taken.

Perhaps the most interesting story concerning the retirement of Albert Reynolds is his relationship with the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. In 1999 General Musharraf became President of Pakistan following a military coup. The White House at the time had a policy of not recognizing governments that came to power through a coup d'état. Reynolds was asked by business associates to travel to Pakistan and meet with Musharraf. Musharraf then asked Reynolds to act as an advisor to him and to contact U.S. President Bill Clinton to reassure the White House as to the intentions of the new government of Pakistan. Reynolds also claimed in interviews with Irish radio that because of the trust built up between himself and Musharraf he was later asked to arrange peace talks between India and Pakistan. These talks started in early 2001 but the September 11 attacks caused them to stall. After the attacks Musharraf could not get in contact with the White House. He called Reynolds, and Reynolds then called former US President Bill Clinton, who quickly contacted President George W. Bush to communicate the Pakistani position.

In July 2008, it was reported that Reynolds was medically unfit to give evidence at the Mahon Tribunal because of "significant cognitive impairment". Reynolds had been due to give evidence on several previous occasions on payments he allegedly received when he was Taoiseach. Speaking about his former boss, RTE sports commentator George Hamilton said that it is a pity Reynolds' mental capacity had diminished. "He was razor sharp", said the broadcaster, who is also a qualified rugby union referee.

Governments

The following governments were led by Reynolds:

22nd Government of Ireland (February 1992–January 1993)

23rd Government of Ireland (January 1993–December 1994)

References

{{s-ttl| title = Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Longford–Westmeath | years = 1977–1992 }}

{{s-ttl| title = Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Longford–Roscommon | years = 1992–2002 }}

{{s-ttl| title = Minister for Posts and Telegraphs | years = 1979–1981 }} {{s-ttl| title = Minister for Transport | years = 1980–1981 }}

Category:Taoisigh of Ireland Category:Irish Ministers for Finance Category:Leaders of Fianna Fáil Category:Teachtaí Dála Category:Members of the 21st Dáil Category:Members of the 22nd Dáil Category:Members of the 23rd Dáil Category:Members of the 24th Dáil Category:Members of the 25th Dáil Category:Members of the 26th Dáil Category:Members of the 27th Dáil Category:Members of the 28th Dáil Category:People from County Roscommon Category:1932 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Summerhill College

ca:Albert Reynolds de:Albert Reynolds es:Albert Reynolds eu:Albert Reynolds fr:Albert Reynolds ga:Ailbhe Mac Raghnaill gv:Albert Reynolds gd:Albert Reynolds gl:Albert Reynolds it:Albert Reynolds nl:Albert Reynolds pl:Albert Reynolds fi:Albert Reynolds sv:Albert Reynolds

The Sino-British Joint Declaration, formally known as the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, was signed by the Prime Ministers, Zhao Ziyang and Margaret Thatcher, of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United Kingdom (UK) governments on 19 December 1984 in Beijing.

The Declaration entered into force with the exchange of instruments of ratification on 27 May 1985, and was registered by the PRC and UK governments at the United Nations on 12 June 1985. In the Joint Declaration, the PRC Government stated that it had decided to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong (including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories) with effect from 1 July 1997, and the UK Government declared that it would hand over Hong Kong to the PRC with effect from 1 July 1997. The PRC Government also declared its basic policies regarding Hong Kong in the document.

In accordance with the "One country, two systems" principle agreed between the UK and the PRC, the socialist system of PRC would not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years until 2047. The Joint Declaration provides that these basic policies should be stipulated in the Hong Kong Basic Law and that the socialist system and socialist policies shall not be practised in HKSAR.

Background

The background of the Sino-British Joint Declaration was the pending expiration of the lease of the New Territories on 1 July 1997. The lease was negotiated between the UK and the Guangxu Emperor of China, and was for a period of 99 years starting from 1 July 1898 under the Second Convention of Peking. At the time of the lease signing, Hong Kong Island had already been ceded to the UK in perpetuity under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 after the First Opium War, and the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula as well as the Stonecutters Island had also been ceded to the UK in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860 after the Second Opium War.

In the late 1970s the territory and foreign investors were concerned about the future of Hong Kong. The main problem was about land lease in the New Territories which was set to expire in 1997. With the visit of the Governor of Hong Kong, Murray MacLehose, in Peking in March 1979 the discussion about the future of Hong Kong began. An attempt was made to solve the question of land lease expiring in 1997. The first discussions begun with Chairman Deng Xiaoping of the PRC during the visit of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, to China in September 1982.

During the following discussions, where the Governor of Hong Kong took part in every round of formal talks as a member of the British delegation, it became clear that the continuation of British administration after 1997 would not be acceptable to China in any form. The Chinese Government has consistently taken the view that the whole of Hong Kong should be Chinese territory, due to what they perceived as the inequality of historical treaties. As a result the two sides discussed other effective measures than continued British administration and came up with the concept of Hong Kong as a Special Administration Region of the PRC. In April 1984 the two sides concluded the initial discussion of these matters and arranged that Hong Kong would retain a high degree of autonomy under Chinese sovereignty with the preservation of the maintained lifestyle in Hong Kong. By 18 September 1984 both sides had approved the English and Chinese texts of the documents and the associated Exchange of Memoranda.

Content of the Joint Declaration

Joint Declaration

The Sino-British Joint Declaration consist of eight paragraphs, three Annexes about the Basic Policies regarding Hong Kong, the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group and the Land Leases as well as the two Memoranda of the two sides. Each part has the same status, and ''“The whole makes up a formal international agreement, legally binding in all its parts. An international agreement of this kind is the highest form of commitment between two sovereign states.”'' Within these declarations the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be directly under the authority of the Central People’s Government of the PRC and shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy except for foreign and defence affairs. It shall be allowed to have executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. The Basic Law explains that in addition to Chinese, English may also be used in organs of government and that apart from the national flag and national emblem of the PRC the HKSAR may use a regional flag and emblem of its own. It shall maintain the capitalist economic and trade systems previously practised in Hong Kong. The PRC declared that the basic policies regarding Hong Kong are as follows:

National unity and territorial integrity shall be upheld and a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) shall be established.

The HKSAR will be directly under the authority of the Central People’s Government of the PRC and will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs.

It will be vested with executive, legislative and independent judicial power (including that of final adjudication) and the laws currently in force in Hong Kong will remain basically unchanged.

The Government of the HKSAR will be composed of local inhabitants but the chief executive will be appointed by the Central People’s Government and he will nominate the principal officials. Furthermore the legislature of the HKSAR shall be constituted by elections.

Not just the current social and economic system in Hong Kong will remain unchanged, also the life-style and rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of travel, of movement, of correspondence, of strike, of demonstration of choice of occupation, of academic research and of religious belief, inviolability of the home, the freedom to marry, the right to raise a family freely. Those will be ensured by law as well as the private property, ownership of enterprises, legitimate right of inheritance and foreign investment.

The Hong Kong Special Administration Region will retain the status of a free port and a separate customs territory. It can continue the free trade policy, including free movement of goods and capital.

The HKSAR will retain the status of an international financial centre with free flow of capital and the Hong Kong dollar remaining freely convertible. The HKSAR may authorise designated banks to issue or continue to issue Hong Kong currency under statutory authority.

It will have independent finances with its own budgets and final accounts, but reporting it to the Central People’s Government. Additionally the Central People’s Government will not levy taxes on it.

The HKSAR may establish mutually beneficial economic relations with the United Kingdom and other countries.

The name used for international relations will be ‘Hong Kong, China’. In doing so it may maintain and develop economic and cultural relations and agreements with states, regions and relevant international organisations on its own and it may issue travel documents for Hong Kong. International agreements to which the PRC is not a party but Hong Kong is may remain implemented in the HKSAR.

The government of the HKSAR is responsible for the maintenance of public order. Military forces sent by the Central People’s Government, stationed in HKSAR, for the purpose of defence shall not interfere in the internal affairs in the HKSAR.

Those basic policies will be stipulated in a Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the PRC by the National People’s Congress and will remain unchanged for 50 years.

The Government of the United Kingdom will be responsible for the administration of Hong Kong with the object of maintaining and preserving its economic prosperity and social stability until 30 June 1997 and the Government of the PRC will give its cooperation in this connection.

Furthermore this declaration regulates the right of abode, those of passports and immigration. All Chinese nationals who were born or who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of seven years or more are qualified to obtain permanent identity cards. Those cardholders can also get a passport of the HKSAR, which is valid for all states and regions. But the entry into the HKSAR of persons from other parts of China shall continue to be regulated in accordance with the present practice.

The PRC's basic policies regarding Hong Kong (Annex I)

This Annex is called the ''Elaboration by the government of the People's Republic of China of its basic policies regarding Hong Kong''. It is partly mentioned in the summary above and deals in detail with the way Hong Kong will work after 1 July 1997. The annex consist of following sections: (1) Constitutional arrangements and government structure; (II) the laws; (III) the judicial system; (IV) the public service; (V) the financial system; (VI) the economic system and external economic relations; (VII) the monetary system, (VIII) shipping, (IX) civil aviation; (X) education; (XI) foreign affairs; (XII) defence, security and public order; (XIII) basic rights and freedoms; (XIV) right of abode, travel and immigration.

Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (Annex II)

Annex II set up the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group. That Group came into force at 1 July 1988 and continued its work until 1 January 2000. Its functions were :a) to conduct consultations on the implementation of the Joint Declaration :b) to discuss matters relating to the smooth transfer of government in 1997 :c) to exchange information and conduct consultations on such subjects as may be agreed by the two sides.

This Group was an organ for liaison and not of power, where each side could send up to 20 supporting staff members. It should meet at least once in each of the three locations (Beijing, London and Hong Kong) in each year. From 1 July 1988 onwards it was based in Hong Kong. It should also assist the HKSAR to maintain and develop economic and cultural relations and conclude agreements on these matters with states, regions and relevant international organisations and could therefore set up specialist sub-groups. Between 1985 and 2000 the Joint Liaison Group held 47 plenary meetings whereof 18 were held in Hong Kong, 15 in London and 14 in Beijing.

One of the main achievements had been to ensure the continuity of the independent judiciary in Hong Kong, including agreements in the areas of law of Merchant Shipping, Civil Aviation, Nuclear Material, Whale Fisheries, Submarine Telegraph, Outer Space and many others. Furthermore it agreed to a network of bilateral agreements between Hong Kong and other countries. Within those agreements were reached on the continued application of about 200 international conventions to the HKSAR after June 30, 1997. Hong Kong should also continue to participate in various international organisations after the handover.

Land Leases (Annex III)

According to the Land Leases all leased lands, granted by the British Hong Kong Government, which extend beyond 30 June 1997 and all rights in relation to such leases shall continue to be recognised and protected under the law of the HKSAR for a period expiring not longer than 30 June 2047. Furthermore a Land Commission shall be established with equal number of officials from the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the PRC which was dissolved on 30 June 1997. This commission was established in 1985 and met in Hong Kong for 35 formal meetings and agreed on 26 legal documents, within the granting of the land required for the new airport at Chek Lap Kok in 1994 .

United Kingdom Memorandum

In this memorandum the Government of the United Kingdom declares that all persons in Hong Kong who hold British Dependent Territories citizenship (BDTCs) will be ceased to be BDTCs with effect from 1 July 1997. They can only eligible to retain an appropriate statues (without the right of abode in the United Kingdom) if the British passport was issued before 1 July 1997.

Chinese Memorandum

''“Under the National Law of the PRC, all Hong Kong Chinese compatriots, whether they are holders of the ‘British Dependent Territories Citizens’ Passport’ or not, are Chinese nationals.”'' Those people who use travel documents issued by the Government of the United Kingdom are permitted to use them for the purpose of travelling to other states and regions, but they will not be entitled to British consular protection in the HKSAR and other parts of the PRC.

Commentaries

The signing of the Joint Declaration by the Conservative Party government of Margaret Thatcher was a cause of controversy in Britain at the time: some were surprised that the right wing Prime Minister would agree to such an arrangement with the Communist government of China represented by Deng Xiaoping. But, as stated in the notes of The Hong Kong Baptist University: “The alternative to acceptance of the present agreement is to have no agreement.” Some were surprised that Hong Kong residents were not given full UK citizenship. The Joint Declaration would also have to have been signed by HM Queen Elizabeth II and the President of China, Li Xiannian.

However, many commentaries pointed out that Britain was in an extremely weak negotiating position. Hong Kong was not militarily defensible and received most of its water and food supply from Guangdong province in mainland China. It was therefore considered economically infeasible to divide Hong Kong, with the UK retaining control for Hong Kong Island and Kowloon while returning the New Territories to the PRC in 1997, if no agreements could be reached by then. As mortgages for property in Hong Kong were typically fifteen years, without reaching an agreement on the future of Hong Kong in the early '80s, it was feared that the property market would collapse, causing a collapse of the general economy in Hong Kong. Constraints in the land lease in the New Terrorities were also pressing problems at that time. In fact, while negotiation concerning the future of Hong Kong had started in the late 1970s, the final timing of the Declaration was related to the land and property factors.

Some commentaries pointed out that the UK government had no interest in granting full UK citizenship to Hong Kong Chinese residents. In fact, the UK government changed its nationality laws just a few years before the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration to ensure that Hong Kong Chinese residents would not get the right to live in the UK in future.

But on the other hand, Wu Bangguo, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress stated in a conference in Beijing 2007, that “Hong Kong had considerable autonomy only because the central government had chosen to authorize that autonomy”.

Aftermath

After signing of the declaration, the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group was set up according to the Annex II of the declaration.

The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong (referred to as the "return" or "handover" by the Chinese and British press respectively) occurred as scheduled on 1 July 1997. Since the return just a few things changed, such as the new flag of Hong Kong and the Prince of Wales building was renamed into the People’s Liberation Army building; the post boxes were repainted green, as it is the practice in China. But street names have remained unchanged and even the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club has kept its “Royal” prefix, whereas the Hong Kong Jockey Club and other institutions have given up this expression.

After the Asian financial crisis in 1997 the Hong Kong measures were taken with the full cooperation of the Chinese government in good cooperation. This did not mean that the Chinese government dictated what to do and therefore still follows the points of the declaration.

In 1999 the government of the HKSAR asked China’s State Council to seek an interpretation of a provision in the Basic Law by the National People's Congress Standing Committee. The Chinese government said that a decision by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal would allow 1.6 million mainland immigrants to enter Hong Kong. As a result the Chinese authorities obliged and the Hong Kong judgment was overturned.

One year later, in 2000, after the election of pro-independence candidate Chen Shui-bian as Taiwan’s president, a senior mainland official in Hong Kong warned journalists not to report those Taiwan independence news. Another senior official advised businessmen not to do business with pro-independence Taiwanese.

Due to various interpretations of the Basic Law, especially Article 23, a situation arose whereby many members of the public as well as legislators felt that the government was simply pushing its bill through without public support. This led to a turnout of over half a million people, the biggest of its kind since the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989. In reaction this led to the shelve of the bill.

Ten years after the handover, in 2007, the ''Guardian'', a London newspaper, said, that "nothing has changed since the handover to China 10 years ago".

See also

Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong

History of Hong Kong

Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau

References

External links

Text of the Sino-British Joint Declaration

Introduction to the Joint Declaration

Basic Law Drafting History Online — University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives

Category:China – United Kingdom relations Category:British rule in Hong Kong Category:Cold War treaties Category:History of Hong Kong Category:Politics of Hong Kong Category:Treaties of the People's Republic of China Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom Category:1984 in the United Kingdom Category:1984 in Hong Kong Category:1984 in China Category:Treaties involving territorial changes Category:Treaties concluded in 1984 Category:Treaties entered into force in 1985

de:Sino-British Joint Declaration fr:Déclaration commune sino-britannique sur la question de Hong Kong ko:홍콩 반환 협정 id:Deklarasi Bersama Cina-Britania ms:Pengisytiharan Bersama China-British pt:Declaração conjunta sino-britânica sobre a questão de Hong Kong zh-yue:中英聯合聲明 zh:中英聯合聲明