David Byrne SC (born 6 April 1947) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

politician and barrister who served as Chancellor of

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

from 2006 to 2011, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection from 1999 to 2004 and the

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

from 1997 to 1999.

Early life and career

Byrne was born in

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Sit ...

, County Kildare, in 1947. He was educated at

Newbridge College , latin_name = , logo = Newbridge College crest.gif , logo_size = 140px , seal_image = , image = Newbridge College.jpg , image_size = 270px , alt = Newbridge College and the R ...

, County Kildare,

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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, and King's Inns,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He was called to the Bar in 1970, and practiced law in the Irish and European Courts. During his student days in Dublin, he founded the Free Legal Advice Centre, a student-run organisation providing legal aid to citizens in association with the legal profession. He campaigned in favour of Irish entry into the European Community in the 1970s, and has been a keen supporter of European integration ever since. Byrne became a Senior Counsel in 1985. He practised in both the Irish courts and the European Court of Justice, and also served as a member of the International Court of Commercial Arbitration from 1990 to 1997. In 1997, Byrne became

in the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Ma ...

coalition government. As one of the negotiators of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

in April 1998, he drafted and oversaw the major constitutional amendments required by that agreement, which were approved by Referendum in May 1998. Byrne also advised on the constitutional amendments necessary for Ireland's ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty. During his tenure, he established the first independent Food Safety Agency in Europe responsible to the Minister of Health.

European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection

Byrne was nominated to the European Commission by

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the o ...

Bertie Ahern in September 1999, serving as Ireland's EU Commissioner, and had responsibility for Health and Consumer Protection in the Prodi Commission. He continued in that role until replaced as Ireland's Commissioner by Charlie McCreevy in 2004. During his time in office, Byrne was a major driving force behind European tobacco control legislation, such as directives banning tobacco advertising and regulating tobacco products, in keeping with the

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is a treaty adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland on 21 May 2003. It became the first World Health Organization treaty adopted under ...

. Under his leadership, the European Union also created the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in 2004.

World Health Organization

When he concluded his Brussels assignment, Byrne acted as WHO Special Envoy on the revision of the

International Health Regulations The International Health Regulations (IHR), first adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1969 and last revised in 2005, are a legally binding rules that only apply to the WHO that is an instrument that aims for international collaboration "to pr ...

for a six-month period following a series of outbreaks of

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

and

avian influenza Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.

. Byrne was mooted as a potential candidate for the position of Director General of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

following the death of the incumbent, Dr Lee Jong-wook in 2006. However, he was eventually not included in the list of 13 candidates to head the agency.

Life after politics

After leaving the European Commission, Byrne has held a variety of paid and unpaid positions, including the following: * European Alliance for Personalised Medicine, Co-Chair *

FleishmanHillard FleishmanHillard Inc. (formerly, Fleishman–Hillard) is a public relations and marketing agency founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was acquired by Omnicom Group in 1997, becoming part of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division. ...

, Member of the International Advisory Board * Health First Europe (HFE), Patron * International Prevention Research Institute (iPRI), Chairman of the Ethics Committee * National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), Chairman of the Advisory Committee * Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Of counsel *

World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment ...

, Honorary Co-ChairHonorary Chairs

. * World Prevention Alliance, Member

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, David 1947 births People educated at Newbridge College Alumni of Dublin City University Irish barristers Alumni of King's Inns Politicians from County Kildare Fianna Fáil politicians Attorneys General of Ireland Irish European Commissioners Chancellors of Dublin City University Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr people Living people European Commissioners 1999–2004