Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson
Robinson in 2014
7th President of Ireland
In office 3 December 1990 – 12 September 1997
Taoiseach	Charles Haughey Albert Reynolds John Bruton Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Patrick Hillery
Succeeded by	Mary McAleese
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
In office 12 September 1997 – 12 September 2002
Secretary-General	Kofi Annan
Preceded by	José Ayala Lasso
Succeeded by	Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Senator
In office 5 November 1969 – 5 July 1989
Constituency	Dublin University
Personal details
Born	Mary Therese Winifred Bourke (1944-05-21) 21 May 1944 (age 80) Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland
Political party	Independent (before 1977, 1985–present)
Other political affiliations	Labour Party (1977–1985)
Spouse	Nicholas Robinson ​ ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	3
Residences	Zürich, Switzerland Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin (BA) King's Inns Harvard University (LLM)
Profession	Barrister politician diplomat
Awards	Otto Hahn Peace Medal (2003) Calderone Prize (2005) Princess of Asturias Award (2006) Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) Knight of Freedom Award (2017) Kew International Medal (2018) Tang Prize (2024)
Signature
Mary Robinson's voice From the BBC programme Desert Island Discs Recorded 28 July 2013[1]

Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (Irish: Máire Mhic Róibín;^[2] née Bourke; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the seventh president of Ireland, holding the office from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senator in Seanad Éireann from 1969 to 1989, and as a councillor on Dublin Corporation from 1979 to 1983. Although she had been briefly affiliated with the Labour Party during her time as a senator, she became the first independent candidate to win the presidency and the first not to have had the support of Fianna Fáil.^[3] Following her time as president, Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.

Robinson and her presidency are widely regarded as having a transformative effect on Ireland. Having successfully campaigned on several liberalising issues as a senator and as a lawyer, Robinson was involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the legalisation of contraception, the legalisation of divorce, enabling women to sit on juries, and securing the right to legal aid in civil legal cases in Ireland.^[4] She was Ireland's most popular president, at one point having a 93% approval rating among the electorate.

During her tenure as High Commissioner, she visited Tibet (1998), the first High Commissioner to have done so; she criticised Ireland's immigration policy; and criticised the use of capital punishment in the United States. She extended her intended single four-year term as High Commissioner by one year to preside over the World Conference against Racism 2001 in Durban, South Africa: the conference proved controversial due to a draft document which equated Zionism with racism. Robinson resigned her post in September 2002. After leaving the United Nations in 2002, Robinson formed Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative,^[5] which came to a planned end at the end of 2010.

Robinson served as Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1998 until 2019, and as Oxfam's honorary president from 2002 until she stepped down in 2012. She returned to live in Ireland at the end of 2010 and has since founded The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice.^[6] Robinson remains active in campaigning globally on issues of civil rights. She has been the honorary president of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) since 2005. She is a former Chair of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and is also a founding member and chair of the Council of Women World Leaders. She was a member of the European members of the Trilateral Commission.