| 1 | Name: | The Honorable Mary Robinson | |
| Institution: | Ethical Globalization Initiative; United Nations; Ireland | ||
| Year Elected: | 1999 | ||
| Class: | 5. The Arts, Professions, and Leaders in Public & Private Affairs | ||
| Subdivision: | 503. Administrators, Bankers and Opinion Leaders from the Public or Private Sectors | ||
| Residency: | International | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1944 | ||
A brilliant academic who studied in Dublin and at Harvard, Mary Robinson, at age 25, became Reid Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law (1969-75) at Trinity College, Dublin, and lecturer in European Community Law (1975-90). In 1988, with her husband Nicholas, she was co-founder and director of the Irish Centre for European Law, which promotes, among other things, the study of European human rights law in Ireland. From 1969-89 she was a member of Seanad Eireann, the Upper House of Parliament. She also served on the Dublin City Council, 1979-83, and the International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, 1987-90. In 1990, Mary Robinson became the first woman president of Ireland, at age 46, and redefined this primarily ceremonial role, representing her country internationally and developing a new sense of Ireland's economic, political and cultural links with other countries and cultures, with special emphasis on the needs of developing countries. In 1997, she was appointed the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, serving until 2002. An outspoken crusader, she both criticizes governments with poor human rights records and at the same time coaxes them into making improvements. She has personally visited more than 80 countries, including dangerous areas such as Sierra Leone, Chechnya, Kosovo and East Timor. She was the recipient of the Society's 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Public Service. The citation for the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Public Service reads, "Distinguished legal scholar; Professor of Law at Trinity College, Dublin. Exemplary barrister; devoted to human rights. Admired legislator, member of Seanad Eireann. Beloved President of the Republic of Ireland. Dedicated international public servant; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Tireless champion for the homeless, the dispossessed and the oppressed. The American Philosophical Society salutes this daughter of Ireland and citizen of the world, commends her unswerving devotion to human dignity and freedom, and awards her its Franklin Medal for outstanding public service." Mary Robinson is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and was elected a foreign member of the American Philosophical Society in 1999. In 2002 she moved to New York City and presided over Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. She is Honorary President of OxFam International and Vice President of the Club of Madrid. She chairs the Council of Women World Leaders, the GAVI Fund Board and the Fund for Global Human Rights. She is a Chancellor of Dublin University. In 2007 she was invited to become a founding member of the Elders, a group brought together by Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel that is dedicated to working for the common good. The alliance also includes former President Jimmy Carter, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu. In 2008 she was named to the board of trustees of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and in 2009 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As Realizing Rights reached its planned end in December 2010, Mary Robinson returned to Dublin and set up the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice within the Innovation Academy established by Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. The Foundation will work to foster Irish and international leadership on issues of climate change and sustainable development and promote climate justice and equity - ensuring human rights are at the center of the climate change agenda. She is the author of Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice (2013) and of Climate Justice (2017). | |||