Catherine Day (born 16 June 1954 in

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) south ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

) is a former European civil servant from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Appointed in November 2005 as

Secretary-General of the European Commission The Secretary-General of the European Commission is the senior civil servant of the European Commission. The Secretary-General, who is responsible to the President of the European Commission, is in charge of the various Directorates-General, h ...

, she served two terms with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jose Manuel Barroso Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

and continued with his successor, Mr

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...

until she retired in September 2015. She was the first woman to hold the post of Secretary General of the European Commission.

Education

Catherine Day has an B.A. in Economics (1974)

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in International Trade and Economic Integration (1975) from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

Career

After graduation Catherine Day worked in

, first in the Investment Bank of Ireland and then in the Confederation of Irish Industry.

European roles

In 1979 Day joined the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

following an open competition. She started work in the Industry DG of the Commission and then worked in cabinets of Mr Richard Burke (1982-1984), Mr

Peter Sutherland Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in a variety ...

(1985-1989) and Sir

Leon Brittan Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 193921 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he serv ...

(1989-1996) whom she served as deputy chef de Cabinet. In the mid-1990s she worked on the enlargement of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

to the countries of central and eastern Europe. She chaired the Association Committees with candidate countries and was one of the architects of the pre-accession process. In 2000 she was appointed as deputy Director General in the DG for External Relations, serving under Commissioner

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...

. She was responsible for policy in the Balkans and wider European including Russia and the NIS. In 2002 she was appointed Director General for Environment, serving under Commissioners

Margot Wallström Margot Elisabeth Wallström (; born 28 September 1954) is a Swedish politician of the Swedish Social Democratic Party who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2019 and Minister for Nordic Cooper ...

and Stavros Dimas. She was deeply involved in developing the Commission's REACH legislation on chemicals and in developing its climate and renewable energy strategies. In November 2005 she was appointed Secretary General of the European Commission. During her term of office she developed the role of the Secretariat General in cross-commission policy co-ordination, its better regulation and impact assessment/policy evaluation approach and was a key negotiator of the 2014-2020 multi-annual financial framework for the EU budget. She also led the Commission's work on the European Semester, co-ordinating EU and national economic and social policies. She was succeeded as Secretary General by Mr

Alexander Italianer Alexander Italianer (born 16 March 1956) is a retired European civil servant from the Netherlands who served as Secretary-General of the European Commission from 2015 to 2018. Biography Alexander Italianer was born in 1956 in London, United Ki ...

in September 2015. Through 2018 Day served as "Special Adviser" to

European Commission President The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

Governance roles

Day chaired the Governing Body of

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

from 2015 until January 2019. Since September 2017 she has chaired the Board of Trustees of the

Chester Beatty Library The Chester Beatty Library, now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in Dublin. It was established in Ireland in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum, on the grounds of ...

in Dublin which is a government appointment. She is on the board of

European Movement Ireland European Movement Ireland (EM Ireland) ( ga, Gluaiseacht na hEorpa in Éirinn) is an independent not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for every Irish person to get involved in the European Union and by doing so, help shape it. It is the ol ...

and the

Institute of International and European Affairs The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) ( ga, An Institiúid Gnóthaí Idirnáisiúnta agus Eorpacha) is an Irish policy think tank focusing on European and international policy trends based in Dublin, Ireland. It is known for ...

. She is a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. From 2017 - 2019, Day chaired an independent review group on the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health services in Ireland. In October 2019, Day was appointed chair of the Irish Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. In December 2019 Day was appointed Chair of the Expert Group on Direct Provision.

Honours

* Grand officer of the Order of Leopold. * She has honorary doctorates from

Griffith College Griffith College ( ga, Coláiste Uí Ghríofa) is one of the two largest, and one of the longest-established private, third level (higher education) colleges in Ireland. Overview Established in 1974, with four campuses in Dublin, Cork and ...

Dublin and the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

. * President of Ireland Distinguished Service Award 2014 * Garret Fitzgerald Gold Medal for International Relations 2015 * UCD Foundation Medalist 2015.

References

External links

Interview with European Commission Secretary-General Catherine Day
euractiv.com 26 September 2006; updated 8 June 2007 (retrieved 23 May 2015)
Will the post-Brexit EU be different? Lecture by Catherine Day at the RIA, 10 January 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Catherine 1954 births Alumni of University College Dublin Irish civil servants Women civil servants Living people People from Mount Merrion People educated at Mount Anville Secondary School Secretaries-General of the European Commission 20th-century Irish civil servants 21st-century Irish civil servants Irish officials of the European Union