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Fulbright Association
1100 G Street, N.W.
Suite 525
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 347-5543
Fax: (202) 347-6540 |
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Biography of Mary Robinson |
| Since her appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights by UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan in June 1997, Mary Robinson has taken on the
difficult challenges of her office without hesitation and has consistently
stressed the need for action in the struggle to extend the full range of human
rights to all citizens. |
| Born in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland on May 21, 1944, Mary Robinson was
educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where she received a Master of Arts degree
in 1970. She also earned a Barrister-at-Law degree from the King’s Inns, Dublin,
and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University. |
| At the age of 25, Mrs. Robinson was appointed Reid Professor of Constitutional
and Criminal Law at Trinity College, where she also served as lecturer in
European community law. With her husband Nicholas, Mrs. Robinson founded the
Irish Centre for European Law in 1988. From 1969 to 1989, Mary Robinson was a
member of Seanad Éireann, the Upper House of Parliament. She has also served on
the Dublin City Council and the International Commission of Jurists.
In December 1990, Mrs. Robinson was inaugurated as the seventh president of
Ireland. As president, she represented her country internationally, developing a
new sense of Ireland’s economic, political, and cultural ties to other countries
and cultures. Linking the history of the Great Irish Famine to today’s
nutrition, poverty, and policy issues, she articulated a special relationship
between Ireland and developing countries. |
| The Robinson presidency was characterized by inclusiveness and a concerted
effort to use the office not only to improve the situations of marginalized
groups within Ireland but also to draw attention to global crises. Mrs. Robinson
was the first head of state to visit famine-stricken Somalia in 1992 and also
the first to go to Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide there. In recognition
of her efforts in Somalia, Mrs. Robinson received the Special CARE Humanitarian
Award in 1993. |
| Her humanitarian work as president, her background in human rights law, and her
uncompromising pursuit of justice and equality made her a prime candidate for
the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. As High
Commissioner, Mrs. Robinson is responsible for overseeing the human rights
activities of the United Nations, including promoting universal enjoyment of
human rights, responding to human rights violations, undertaking preventive
human rights action, and providing education and assistance in the field of
human rights. Taking every opportunity to speak out on human rights abuses as
they occur, she has recently expressed urgent concern about conflicts in East
Timor, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone, among others. |
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