State Papers: President Mary Robinson warned against taking up UN role in 1993
Non Position On Presidential Taking Would Create Warned Dividing Presidential And Spring Robinson Dick 'functional' Decisions Presidency, Roles A Tánaiste Into Her Mary The Un
Tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs Dick Spring warned president Mary Robinson in 1993 against accepting a United Nations role while still serving as president as it could lead to conflict with the Government.
The issue arose after Ms Robinson was invited to co-chair an international group tasked with assessing the UN’s role ahead of its 50th anniversary in 1995.
The initiative, backed by Yale University and the Ford Foundation, was established by UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali to propose recommendations for the organisation's future.
However, State papers released under the 30-year rule show the attorney general, Harry Whelehan, advised strongly against granting Ms Robinson permission to accept the position, arguing it could blur the boundaries of the presidency.
“The government would face a recurring dilemma of having to decide when the president was acting as president and when she was acting otherwise — with the added political difficulty of achieving an informed public perception of the two separate existences that a president could have if such a principle were established," he said.
However, Ms Robinson’s legal advisers contested the AG’s position, asserting there was nothing in the Constitution that explicitly prohibited her from accepting the role.
Nevertheless, Mr Whelehan held firm and warned the taoiseach again a conflict of interest could arise.
The situation was particularly delicate for Mr Spring, as Ms Robinson had been the Labour Party’s candidate in the 1990 presidential election.
The tánaiste wrote to the president in 1993 in which he acknowledged their “personal friendship” but expressed concern accepting the UN role would “fly in the face” of the traditional understanding of what the presidency should be about.
Mr Spring emphasised the Irish people viewed the presidency as a “total” office, where all actions were seen as part of the role.
He warned taking on the UN position would create a “functional” presidency, dividing her decisions into presidential and non-presidential roles.
Citing her election slogan from her 1990 election campaign, Mr Spring warned: “Any distinction would represent a considerable culture shock to the many thousands of Irish people who are uplifted by the dedication of their ‘President with a purpose'.”
He acknowledged there were differences of approach between herself and the Government but he hoped they would never “lead any of us into an intransigent and inflexible position”.
Ms Robinson did eventually take up a role with the UN as High Commissioner for Human Rights and left the office of the presidency two months early in September 1997.