Éamon de Valera

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Éamon de Valera (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an Irish statesman. He served as the president of Ireland from 1959 to 1973, and three terms as head of government. He had a leading role in introducing the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, and was a dominant figure in Irish political circles from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, when he served terms as both the head of government and head of state. Born in New York City, de Valera was a Commandant of the Irish Volunteers (3rd Battalion) at Boland's Mill during the Easter Rising in 1916. He was arrested and sentenced to death, but released for a variety of reasons, including his American citizenship and the public response to the British execution of leaders of the Rising. He returned to Ireland after being jailed in England and became one of the leading political figures of the War of Independence. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera served as the political leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin until 1926, when he, along...

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