Trevor Sargent | |
|---|---|
 Sargent in 2006 | |
| Minister of State | |
| 2009–2010 | Health and Children |
| 2007–2010 | Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |
| Leader of the Green Party | |
| In office 6 October 2001 – 17 July 2007 | |
| Deputy | Mary White |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | John Gormley |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office November 1992 – February 2011 | |
| Constituency | Dublin North |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-07-26)26 July 1960 (age 64) County Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | Church of Ireland College of Education Church of Ireland Theological Institute Trinity College Dublin |
Trevor Sargent (born 26 July 1960) is a minister of theChurch of Ireland and a former IrishGreen Party politician who served as aMinister of State from 2007 to 2010 andLeader of the Green Party from 2001 to 2007. He served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theDublin North constituency from 1992 to 2011.[1]
Sargent trained as a primary school teacher in theChurch of Ireland College of Education. In 1981, he started teaching in the Model School,Dunmanway, County Cork. In 1983, he was appointed Principal of St George's National School,Balbriggan, County Dublin. He is a fluentIrish speaker.[2]
A committed environmentalist since the early 1980s, Trevor Sargent first became politically active when he joined the Green Party in 1982. However, it was not until 1989 that the Green Party made an impact in national politics, winning its first seat inDáil Éireann throughRoger Garland. In that same year, Sargent stood for in theEuropean Parliament election inDublin, but was unsuccessful. Two years later in 1991, he was elected toDublin County Council.[citation needed]
At a meeting of the council, he waved a cheque he had received in the post from a builder who was seeking to rezone land for a housing development. When he asked the other members whether any of them had also received cheques, he was assaulted by a number of his fellow councillors. Sargent alleged thatFianna Fáil CouncillorDon Lydon put him in a headlock and attempted to snatch the cheque from him.[3] This is one of the incidents which eventually led to the creation of theMahon Tribunal to look into planning matters in Dublin County Council.[citation needed]
At the1992 general election, he was elected to Dáil Éireann and retained his seat at the1997,2002 and2007 general elections, topping the poll in 2002.[4] Having been elected to the Dáil, he resigned his county council seat in keeping with Green Party policy ondual mandates. This became a legal requirement in 2003. Having been the only Green Party member of the Dáil between 1992 and 1997, Sargent was joined in 1997 byJohn Gormley, and in 2002 by an additional four Green Party TDs.
At a special Leadership Convention inKilkenny on 6 October 2001, Sargent was elected the first official leader of the Green Party. He was re-elected to this position in 2003 and again in 2005. Ahead of the2007 general election, Sargent had committed that he would not lead the party into government with Fianna Fáil. After the election, the Green Party entered talks on forming a coalition government with Fianna Fáil. A programme for government was agreed after over a week of negotiations, which was ratified by 86% by a special conference of the Green Party membership, following passionate endorsements of the deal by Sargent and the rest of the Green leadership. However, Sargent announced that he would resign his position as leader of the party and would not accept a seat in the cabinet. He was succeeded as leader byJohn Gormley.
The27th Government of Ireland led byBertie Ahern was formed on 14 June 2007, with the Greens given two seats at cabinet. On 20 June 2007, Sargent was appointedMinister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for Food and Horticulture.[5][6] He was re-appointed by the28th Government of Ireland whenBrian Cowen succeeded Ahern asTaoiseach on 7 May 2008.[7][8] When Cowen reduced the number of Ministers of State on 22 April 2009, Sargent was given the additional post ofMinister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for Food Safety.[9][10][11]
On 23 February 2010, he resigned as a Minister of State when he admitted unlawfully contactingGardaí about a criminal case involving a constituent who had been assaulted.[12] He lost his seat at the2011 general election, along with all the other Green Party TDs.
In March 2012, he published his debut book,Trevor's Kitchen Garden, a week-by-week manual and diary in book form about growing food in a small garden, based on his blog of the same name.[13]
Sargent was trained as aChurch of Ireland cleric, at theChurch of Ireland Theological Institute, and also studied for a master's degree in theology fromTrinity College Dublin. In August 2017 he was ordained a deacon in theChurch of IrelandDiocese of Cashel and Ossory.[14] He was ordained priest in Christchurch Cathedral,Waterford city on 8 September 2018.[15]
Sargent has made many appearances on the Irish-language TV channelTG4. He was a guest judge on TG4's Feirm Factor and a guest gardener for Season 2 of Garrai Glas in 2011. He also made an appearance onThe Podge and Rodge Show on 10 April 2006.
Sargent lived in Balbriggan for 30 years. In 1987 he helped found Sonairte, The National Ecology Centre, inLaytown,County Meath and served as chairman. He has been active in GIY Ireland.[16] In 1998, he married Heidi Bedell, a former local councilor, and one-time coordinator of the Green Party; they divorced in 2013. Sargent lived with his second wife, Aine Neville, inTacumshin,County Wexford, where they developed an organic horticulture enterprise.[13] They were also members of the Wexford Naturalists' field club.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New post | Leader of the Irish Green Party 2001–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Founders | _banner.png) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership |
| ||||||||||||
| Party structures | |||||||||||||
| Elected representatives |
| ||||||||||||
| Alliances |
| ||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
