Thomas F. O'Higgins

Thomas F. O'Higgins
O'Higgins in 1933
Minister for Defence
In office 18 February 1948 – 7 March 1951
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Oscar Traynor
Succeeded by	Seán Mac Eoin
Minister for Industry and Commerce
In office 7 March 1951 – 13 June 1951
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Daniel Morrissey
Succeeded by	Seán Lemass
Leader of the Opposition
In office 11 January 1944 – 9 June 1944
President	Douglas Hyde
Taoiseach	Éamon de Valera
Preceded by	W. T. Cosgrave
Succeeded by	Richard Mulcahy
Teachta Dála
In office February 1948 – 1 November 1953
Constituency	Cork Borough
In office July 1937 – February 1948
Constituency	Laois-Offaly
In office March 1929 – February 1932
Constituency	Dublin North
Personal details
Born	(1890-11-20)20 November 1890 Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland
Died	1 November 1953(1953-11-01) (aged 62) Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Fine Gael
Spouse	Agnes McCarthy ​ (m. 1915)​
Children	5, including Tom and Michael
Relatives	Timothy Daniel Sullivan (grandfather) Tim Healy (uncle-in-law) Kevin O'Higgins (brother) Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins (daughter-in-law)
Education	Clongowes Wood College
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Military service
Branch/service	National Army
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Irish Civil War

Thomas Francis O'Higgins (20 November 1890 – 1 November 1953) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and medical practitioner who served as Minister for Defence from 1948 to 1951, Minister for Industry and Commerce from March 1951 to June 1951 and Leader of the Opposition from January 1944 to June 1944. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1929 to 1932 and 1937 to 1953.^[1]

Following the killing of his father and his brother during the Irish Civil War in the 1920s, he became politically radicalised and joined Cumann na nGaedhael, as well as also briefly becoming the leader of the Blueshirts.