Mary Robinson has led a life of achievement in politics and international law.  She is most well known as the first woman President of Ireland, a position which she held from 1990-1997.  But, she has been honored repeatedly for her steadfast advocacy for human rights at the domestic and international levels.  Following her tenure as President of Ireland, she fulfilled a request from then-Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan to serve as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Robinson served in that position from 1997-2002 and solidified her role as one of the world’s leading human rights advocates.

As High Commissioner, Robinson worked to implement Annan’s goal to integrate human rights into all the activities of the United Nations.  In September 1998, she became the first High Commissioner to visit China and signed an agreement with the Chinese Government for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake wide-ranging programs to improve human rights in that country.  That same year, Robinson also became the first High Commissioner to visit Tibet.  In addition, she strived to strengthen human rights monitoring in Kosovo and visited the war-torn nations of Rwanda and Cambodia.

Not shy about voicing her opinions and strongly advocating for human rights, even among developed nations, Robinson openly criticized the Irish use of non-EU immigrant labor as similar to “bonded labour.” During her tenure as High Commissioner, she was also at times critical of American domestic and foreign policy.  For example, she has criticized the United States’ continued commitment to the death penalty and has complained of human rights violations committed during the war on terrorism.  She has further been perceived to be at odds with American foreign policy towards Israel, especially after her participation in the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, an event which some criticized as anti-Semitic.

Robinson, born Mary Bourke in 1944, hails from Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland.  She was educated at the University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns Dublin, and Harvard Law School.  Her legal career began as a combination of work in academia as a member of the Trinity College Law Faculty from 1968-1990, in the legislature as a Senator from 1969 to 1989, and as a barrister from 1967 to 1990.  As a practicing lawyer, she has argued cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice, as well as the Irish courts.  As a committed academic, she founded (along with her husband) the Irish Centre for European Law at Trinity College and later became Chancellor of the University of Dublin.

Not one to sit on her laurels, since stepping down from her position as High Commissioner, Robinson has been actively engaged in organizations that promote human rights and tolerance.  Most recently, she has been associated with The Elders, an organization initiated by Richard Branson to bring together world leaders around the concept of traditional village elders who join together to resolve conflicts and promote peace.  Robinson joins the likes of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu in that pursuit.  Their work focuses on the crises in Zimbabwe, Cyprus, and the Sudan.

Robinson is also currently serving as the President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, based in New York City.  This organization is aimed at fostering equitable trade and employment policies, especially promoting the right to health and more humane migration policies, as well as women's leadership and corporate responsibility.  Realizing Rights also supports capacity building in good governance in developing countries, with an initial focus on Africa.  While working in New York for Realizing Rights, Robinson has continued in academia, teaching international human rights at Columbia University.

In addition to these activities, Robinson has distinguished herself by founding or acting in a leadership role in a number of organizations dedicated to promoting equality and human rights.  Among other organizations, she is the co-founder and former chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, patron of the International Community of Women Living with AIDS (ICW), chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, honorary chair of the Fund for Global Human Rights, and honorary president of Oxfam International.  In November, 2006, Robinson also became one of the signatories of the Yogyakarta Principles, adopted for the protection of gay and lesbian human rights.  She currently serves as the commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists.

For her lifetime of achievement, Robinson has been awarded numerous honors, such as the 2004 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award for her achievements in the field of international human rights.  Most notably, in recent news, President Barack Obama presented Robinson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in 2009.