Mary Robinson

Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland, & former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mary Robinson is Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin and Chair of The Elders. She was President of Ireland (1990-1997) and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002). Mary has been awarded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Between 2013 and 2016, she served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in various roles, including for the Great Lakes region of Africa, Climate Change, and El Niño and Climate. Her Foundation for Climate Justice operated from 2010 to 2019.

Mary is a former President of the International Commission of Jurists, Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, and was President and founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative (2002-2010). She also served as Honorary President of Oxfam International (2002-2012) and Chancellor of the University of Dublin (1998-2019).

Currently, she is Patron of the International Science Council, the Institute of Human Rights and Business, and serves on several boards, including the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and Aurora Foundation. She recently became joint Honorary President of the Africa Europe Foundation. Mary co-hosts the climate crisis podcast Mothers of Invention and is the author of Everybody Matters (2012) and Climate Justice (2018).

Photo Credit: The Elders