Eugene Alexander Regan (born 12 June 1952) is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

since October 2015. He previously served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

from 2007 to 2011.

Early and personal life

He was educated at

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 ...

, University of Brussels and

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. Regan qualified as a barrister in 1985, commenced practice in 1995 and became a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 2005. He specialises in European law cases, many with a competition, state aid, public procurement or agricultural dimension. During a career which began as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

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 ...

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Euro ...

in 1973, Regan worked with

Alan Dukes Alan Dukes (born 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication from 1996 to 1997, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Justice from 1986 t ...

in the mid-1970s as an economist for the

Irish Farmers' Association The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) (Irish: ''Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann'') is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in the Republic of Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative ...

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 ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Regan served in the cabinet of

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 ...

, when the latter was EU Commissioner for Social Affairs and Competition. Following his return to Ireland from Brussels, he spent eight years as general manager of Agra Trading, a Dublin-based company that trades agricultural produce internationally. An ardent pro-European, he is Chairman of the Lawyers Group and Project Leader of the Justice and Home Affairs Group in 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 ...

(IIEA), and has contributed to many publications on European law matters, both legal and media. He was also a leading advocate and campaigner in the

Amsterdam Treaty The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

and

Treaty of Nice The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European Co ...

referendum campaigns. He lives in Monkstown,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

with his Danish-born wife, Janne and two daughters.

Political career

He was elected for the first time to

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that s ...

on 11 June 2004, having spent in excess of €45,000 on his election. On his election to the Seanad, Regan was appointed by Enda Kenny as party Seanad spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform and was made a member of the Joint Committee on the Constitution and the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights. Regan, along with Seán Barrett and fellow Councillor John Bailey, were selected as Fine Gael candidates to stand at the 2007 general election in the

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

constituency. Only Barrett was elected for Fine Gael. Regan received the support of former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

who intervened in a general election for the first time since leaving the Dáil in 1992. Support also came from

and

. Regan served as

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the off ...

of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council from 2006–2007. He was elected to the Seanad on the

on 24 July 2007. He is known for bringing the issue of the

Willie O'Dea affidavit incident The Willie O'Dea affidavit incident or Brothelgate was a 2010 political controversy in Ireland involving Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea. Enda Kenny, leader of main opposition party Fine Gael, accused O'Dea of having committed perjury after it ...

to the attention of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

which led to O'Dea's resignation as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

. He did not contest the 2011 Seanad election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Eugene Living people Alumni of University College Dublin European Court of Justice judges Fine Gael senators Institute of European Affairs Irish barristers Local councillors in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 23rd Seanad Irish judges of international courts and tribunals 1952 births Alumni of King's Inns