Geraldine Byrne Nason (born 1959) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

diplomat who is currently Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America.

Early life and education

Nason was born in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

in 1959, and attended

Our Lady's College, Greenhills , motto_translation = , established = 1940 , location = Greenhills, County Louth, Greenhills, County Louth , country = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , students = , staff = 109 , principal ...

. She has a BA and MA in Literature from

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

Career

Nason joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981. She was Director for Governance at the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

in Paris in the 1990s. She has served at the UN in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, and

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Nason served as Second Secretary General of the

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

from 2011 until 2014, making her the highest-ranking female civil servant in the country. In summer 2014, she produced a report of issues that might affect Ireland if the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

left 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 ...

. In August 2014, Nason was appointed Ireland's Ambassador to France and Monaco. Alongside her Swedish counterpart, she started an informal network of women ambassadors and journalists in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In August 2017, Nason was appointed as Ireland's permanent representative to the UN in New York by

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 ...

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...

, replacing David Donoghue. She was tasked with trying to secure Ireland a seat on the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

in 2020 and this effort was successful. In 2018 and 2019 Nason chaired the 62nd and 63rd sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. From January 2021 she held the Irish seat at the U.N. Security Council for its two-year tenure, being President of the council for the month of September 2021. In 2022 she was appointed Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America.

Awards and honours

Nason was elected 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 ...

in 2014. She has an

honorary doctorate of letters An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

from

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

. She received the Freedom of the Town of

on 10 January 2020. In 2022 she received Concern Worldwide's annual Women of Concern Award "in recognition of her outstanding career as a female leader within the diplomatic and civil service and her unwavering dedication to advocating for women's rights at home and abroad".

Personal life

Nason is married to Brian Nason, and they have one son.

References

External links

Ambassador Byrne Nason speaks to Adam Dziedzic of the United Nations Association Poland prior to Ireland taking up Security Council seat, November, 2020

Speech at Fordham University, July,2018

Graduation speech at International School, Paris, 2017.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nason, Geraldine Byrne Living people 1959 births People from Drogheda Alumni of Maynooth University Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Ambassadors of Ireland to France Irish women ambassadors Permanent Representatives of Ireland to the United Nations Members of the Royal Irish Academy