Cosgrave, Liam [key], 1920–2017, Irish statesman; son of William Cosgrave. After studying law, he entered the Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael member in 1943 and served as minister of commerce and industry (1948–54), minister for external affairs (1954–57), and chairman of the first Irish delegation to the United Nations (1956). He became leader of the party in 1965, and in Mar., 1973, following the general election, he was made prime minister. In the face of continuing deterioration of the political situation in Northern Ireland, Cosgrave supported the British government in its establishment of a coalition executive there and its plans for a Council of Ireland to link the governments of the republic and the North. Fine Gael's defeat in 1977 was attributed to increasing inflation and unemployment; Cosgrave stepped down as party leader and was succeeded by Garrett FitzGerald. He retired from the Dáil in 1981.
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