Jeremy Andrew Harris, (born 5 April 1965), is the current

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

in the Republic of Ireland, having assumed office in September 2018. He previously served as Deputy Chief Constable of the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ') is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...

(PSNI) from 2014 to 2018.

Biography

Harris joined the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

(RUC) in 1983, rising to become Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI in October 2014. His father, Alwyn Harris, a senior RUC officer was murdered by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

in 1989. Following an international selection process, which included a salary increase to €250,000 to attract interest, Harris was announced as the new Garda Commissioner on 26 June 2018, becoming the first Commissioner to be appointed from outside the

. He took over the leadership of the Garda Síochána from Dónall Ó Cualáin, who had served as acting Garda Commissioner since the resignation of

Nóirín O'Sullivan Nóirín O'Sullivan (born 3 November 1960) is an Irish Garda who has served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police since October 2017. She previously served as Garda Commissioner fro ...

in September 2017, following a number of Garda scandals. His appointment as Garda Commissioner is for five years. He is married with four children and holds a master's degree in Criminology from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He is a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Drew 1965 births Living people Alumni of the University of Cambridge Garda Commissioners Police Service of Northern Ireland officers Royal Ulster Constabulary officers British police chief officers Police officers from Belfast Officers of the Order of the British Empire Northern Irish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal