Obituary:Born in Co Mayo on 16 September 1925, Mr Haughey was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Dublin in 1957. He was re-elected at each election after that until he stepped down from office in 1992.
Mr Haughey was taoiseach on three occasions and held several cabinet posts during his political career. His ministerial posts included justice (1961-1964), agriculture (1964-1966), and finance (1966-1970).
He was taoiseach between December 11th 1979 and June 30th 198, between Mary 9th and December 14th, 1982 and finally from March 10th 1987 to February 11th 1992.
Following his trial, Mr Haughey retreated to the back benches before returning to Cabinet as Minister for Health & Social Welfare in 1977.
He became the sixth Taoiseach in December 1979 following the resignation of Jack Lynch but was beaten by Fine Gael's Gareth Fitzgerald in the 1981 General Elections.
His second term lasted only a period of months from March 9th 1982 until the 14th of December in the same year.
His final term began on March 10th 1987 and ended in February 11th, 1992 when he was replaced by Albert Reynolds.
Mr Haughey retired from political life at the 1992 General Election. His son Seán, won a seat in his father's old constituency.
For the latter part of his life, Mr Haughey was the subject of much speculation regarding the source of his wealth.
It was revealed at the Moriarty Tribunal that he received more than £8 million over an 18-year period from various benefactors and businessmen.
He agreed to pay €5m to the Revenue Commission in March 2003 to settle outstanding tax liabilities.
The payment was his second payment to the Commission after Mr Haughey paid €1.28m as an interim settlement on tax owed on on payments received from supermarket tycoon Ben Dunne during the 1980s.
Mr Haughey and his wife agreed to sell land at their estate at Abbeville Kinsealy, Co Dublin, in order to settle a tax bill.
The land, which had been transferred to the Haughey children in 1990, had to be transferred back to Mr Haughey.
In August 2003, the house and lands at Kinsealy were sold to Manor Park Homes for €45 million but Mr Haughey and his wife were given the right to continue living in the house.
Despite being liked and loathed in equal measure, the former taoiseach is largely credited with transforming the economy and with laying the groundwork for the peace process.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said last year that the State's current prosperity was directly based on the economic changes made by Mt Haughey between 1987/89.
He said the former taoiseach had acted "bravely" in handling the economic crisis of that era, when unemployment exceeded 20 per cent.
Mr Haughey is also credited with supporting the horse racing industry in Ireland and with the introduction of the tax-free scheme for writers and artists.
He featured as one of the central figures in the 1970s Arms Trial. Along with Belfast republican, Mr John Kelly; Belgian arms dealer, Mr Albert Luykx, and Capt James Kelly, he was cleared of attempting to import arms for northern nationalists, illegally using State money.