John Boland was one of the faces of 1980s politics. His thin, nervous features were just the right look for an era in which the State bordered on bankruptcy, and for a ministerial career punctuated by unpopular decisions.
His role as minister for the public service defined his time in politics. A series of governments had shied away from implementing the reforms recommended by the 1969 Devlin report, but when the Fine Gael-Labour coalition took power in 1982, Mr Boland was given the job and set to it with a vengeance.
He appointed the first Ombudsman, removed anonymity from officials dealing with the public, clamped down on job-canvassing and - most unforgivably for some - reformed the appointment of higher civil servants to enshrine the concept of promotion on merit.
While winning these battles he waged a less successful war on public sector pay. By the time he was himself promoted on merit in 1986, the son of two civil servants had thoroughly earned his reputation as the scourge of the bureaucrats.
His appointment had been dubious reward for a promising spell as minister for education (when he abolished corporal punishment in schools) in the shortlived government of 1981-82. He added to his credentials dramatically during the subsequent time in opposition, when he masterminded one of the great by-election upsets of recent history.
The then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, had gambled on improving his fragile Dail position by appointing Fine Gael's Dick Burke to the post of European Commissioner. As Fine Gael's campaign director, however, Mr Boland ran the operation "like a German general", according to a party colleague, securing the election of previously unknown Liam Skelly.
The triumph contributed to the collapse of the Haughey government later in 1982, and to the rehabilitation of Fine Gael after the infamous "children's shoes" budget which had precipitated the year's first election.
More identified with Fianna Fail as a commerce student in UCD, Mr Boland was elected to Dublin County Council for Fine Gael in 1967, becoming council chairman in 1971, aged 26.
A senator from 1969 onwards, he became a TD at the third attempt in 1977, representing Dublin North. Although regarded variously as "an abrasive little bugger - always was and always will be" (the words of a friend and admirer) and an "unlovable achiever" (a 1985 newspaper headline), he was still seen as a rising star when he became minister for the environment in 1986.
Some even considered him a potential Taoiseach, while at least one colleague argued that his waspish personality would prevent him reaching the top. He enjoyed just one more political promotion - becoming minister for health in the caretaker government in which Fine Gael briefly ruled alone after the Labour walkout of 1987.
Mr Boland and Fine Gael were soon in opposition again, and when new party leader Alan Dukes reshuffled his front bench in 1988, the onetime rising star was one of the big casualties.
Dropped as environment spokesman, Mr Boland defended himself against suggestions that he had been distracted by studies for the Bar and had not been pulling his weight. He said some of his initiatives had been stymied by the party's failure to discuss them; his supporters claimed When he lost his Dail seat in 1989 he went on to excel in a new profession, as a practising barrister.
In later years he would reflect on the controversy which arose during his time as chairman of the county council, when he used his position to push through controversial rezoning decisions on land around Dublin Airport. He even took out an auctioneer's licence and handled some of the property development deals which followed.
Questions were raised in the press and, in common with his Fianna Fail constituency colleague, Mr Ray Burke, Mr Boland was investigated by the Garda, which sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions. No charges were brought and, speaking of the matter in 1985, Mr Boland said: "There was an amount of unfair comment at the time, but I haven't thought about it for years."
Married to Kay Kennedy, with whom he had two children, Grace and John, he lived in Skerries in north Dublin, where he was a member of the sailing club. He was also an enthusiast for racing, particularly the jumping variety, and a strong supporter of the Dublin Gaelic football and hurling teams.