William Norton

William Norton
Tánaiste
In office 2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Seán Lemass
Succeeded by	Seán Lemass
In office 18 February 1948 – 13 June 1951
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Seán Lemass
Succeeded by	Seán Lemass
Minister for Social Welfare
In office 18 February 1948 – 13 June 1951
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Seán Lemass
Succeeded by	Seán Lemass
Minister for Industry and Commerce
In office 2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Seán Lemass
Succeeded by	Seán Lemass
Leader of the Labour Party
In office 1932 – March 1960
Preceded by	Thomas J. O'Connell
Succeeded by	Brendan Corish
Teachta Dála
In office February 1932 – October 1961
Constituency	Kildare
In office February 1926 – June 1927
Constituency	Dublin County
Personal details
Born	2 November 1900 Dublin, Ireland
Died	4 December 1963 (aged 63) Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Helen Norton
Children	6
Religion	Roman Catholicism

William Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician, and leader of the party from 1932 to 1960.^[1]

Norton was born in Dublin in 1900. He joined the postal service in 1916. By 1920 he was a prominent member in the trade union movement in Ireland. From 1924 to 1948 he served as secretary of the Post Office Workers' Union.

He was elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin County at a by-election in 1926, but was defeated at the June 1927 general election. In Professor Tom Garvin's review of the 1950s 'News from a New Republic', he comes in for praise as a moderniser. Garvin places him with a cross party group including Gerard Sweetman and Daniel Morrissey of Fine Gael as well as Seán Lemass of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda. He represented Kildare from 1932 until his death.^[2]

In 1932 he became leader of the Labour Party. In the First Inter-Party Government (1948–1951), Norton became Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare. In the Second Inter-Party Government (1954–1957), Norton served as Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce.

William Norton died in Dublin in 1963. His son Patrick Norton served as a TD for Kildare from 1965 to 1969.

See also

• Families in the Oireachtas

References

1. "William Norton". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
2. "Mr. William Norton". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 28 September 2008.