Institute of International and European Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) is Ireland
’s leading think tank on Europe
an and International affairs and is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. Its extensive research programme aims to provide its members with high-level analysis and forecasts of the challenges on the global and EU policy agendas which impact on Ireland. It acts as a catalyst for new thinking, new solutions and policy options, which give its members from the private and public sector a significant competitive advantage.
The IIEA provides a forum in Ireland for corporate networking. It annually hosts over 100 events which afford its members unparalleled access to the highest-level speakers, decision-makers, and thought-leaders at national, EU and global level. The videos of these events are hosted on www.iiea.com.
Every year the Institute holds over 100 high level events on business, economic, political and legal issues. These events include policy dialogues, keynote addresses, briefings, seminars and conferences. In 2009, the Institute held 110 events at which high-level Irish, EU and global decision makers and thought leaders addressed the members.
Meetings are generally held under Europe House rules of confidentiality. This means that speechs and presentations will be on the record while the Q&A session will be confidential to ensure frank and vibrant discussion.
In addition, the Institute operates dedicated groups examining terrorism, which has attracted a number of important speakers including George Joffe, Peter Bergen
, Magnus Ranstorp
, Bruce Hoffman
, and Tariq Ramadan
.
In addition to its dedicated core staff of full-time researchers, the Research Department also draws upon expertise from the Institute’s membership, including former Taoisigh
(Prime Ministers of Ireland), Ministers, Secretaries General, business leaders, leaders of ICT EMEA head quarters, journalists and academics. Its high-level working groups discuss specific policy areas of relevance to the business and policy community. Each group has a high-calibre chair and project leader, and meets at regular intervals with contributions from visiting experts.
Their members include:
Embassies - 53 out of 62 Embassies in Ireland
Energy - 14 leading companies including ESB, Bord Gas, Bord na Mona, SEI, Eirgrid, Codema
Education - 5 leading organizations including Trinity, UCD, UCC and Leargas
Banking & Finance - 11 leading organizations including AIB, BOI, Goldman Sachs, the Central Bank and Irish Life & Permanent
Government Departments - 18 Government Departments including Department of Taoiseach
Government Bodies - All major government bodies including the Dail, the Senate, the Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin City Council and others
Law - 6 Major Law firms including Arthur Cox, BCM Hanby Wallace, William Fry and Mason Hayes & Curran
Retail - Retail leaders including Tesco, Diageo and the Smurfit Kappa Group
Semi-States - 11 Semi-State bodies including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Dublin Airport Authority and CEI
Technology - Technology leaders including Google, Microsoft and Realex Payments
Telecomms - 4 Telecomms Organisations including Vodafone, BT and ComReg
Social Partners - 4 including IBEC, IMPACT, INTO and Siptu
Individual members include former heads of state and government, government ministers, parliamentarians, Secretaries General of government departments and other senior Civil Service officials, company chairpersons and CEO's and senior managers, members of the judiciary, ambassadors, senior barristers, partners in solicitors' firms, senior representatives from trade unions, academia, NGOs and professional and sectoral associations. Further, any interested individual can apply for membership.
The post of Director General of the Institute is held by Daithi O'Ceallaigh. Jill Donoghue is the Director of Research.
There are also Directors of Finance, Communications and Development, three general administrative staff and an IT administrator.
Oversight
There is a Management Team, of which the Chairman is Brendan Halligan
, former Secretary General of the Labour Party, with six Vice-Chairpersons, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
The membership elects an Executive Committee, with over 45 members.
Honorary positions
Patron Mary McAleese
President of Ireland
President Dr. Garret FitzGerald
former Taoiseach
(prime minister) of Ireland
Members of the Comite d'Honneur: former Irish prime ministers Bertie Ahern
, T.D. and John Bruton
(now Ambassador of the European Union to the USA), Charles McCreevy European Commissioner for Internal Trade, Dr Patrick Hillery
former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson
former President of Ireland, Albert Reynolds
former Taoiseach, Pat Cox
former President of the European Parliament, Richard Burke former European Commissioner, David Byrne
former European Commissioner, Pádraig Flynn
former European Commissioner, Ray MacSharry
former European Commissioner, Micheal O'Kennedy former European Commissioner, Peter Sutherland
former European Commissioner.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
’s leading think tank on Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and International affairs and is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. Its extensive research programme aims to provide its members with high-level analysis and forecasts of the challenges on the global and EU policy agendas which impact on Ireland. It acts as a catalyst for new thinking, new solutions and policy options, which give its members from the private and public sector a significant competitive advantage.
The IIEA provides a forum in Ireland for corporate networking. It annually hosts over 100 events which afford its members unparalleled access to the highest-level speakers, decision-makers, and thought-leaders at national, EU and global level. The videos of these events are hosted on www.iiea.com.
Meetings
Meetings are generally held under Europe House rules of confidentiality. This means that speechs and presentations will be on the record while the Q&A session will be confidential to ensure frank and vibrant discussion.
Guest Keynote speakers
High profile keynote speakers at the Institute come under 7 main headings:- Political leaders who have spoken at the Institute include Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, Dominique de VillepinDominique de VillepinDominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....
, Mikhail GorbachevMikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, Giuliano AmatoGiuliano AmatoGiuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
, Chris PattenChris PattenChristopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
, John PodestaJohn PodestaJohn David Podesta was the fourth and final White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, from 1998 until 2001. He is the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., and is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law...
. - Leading intellectuals who have given keynote addresses at the Institute in Dublin include Joseph Stiglitz (Harvard), Noam ChomskyNoam ChomskyAvram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
(MIT), Joseph NyeJoseph NyeJoseph Samuel Nye, Jr. is the co-founder, along with Robert Keohane, of the international relations theory neoliberalism, developed in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and complex interdependence...
(Harvard Kennedy School), Toomas Ilves. - European decision-makers who have visited include: Catherine DayCatherine DayCatherine Day is the current Secretary-General of the European Commission. She has been in that position since 2005 during the Barroso Commission, having previously been the Director General for the Environment....
, Andris Piebalgs (EU Commissioner for Energy), Charlie McCreevyCharlie McCreevyCharles "Charlie" McCreevy is a former Irish politician. He was the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2004–2010. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1977 and held the seat in Kildare until 2004 when he became Ireland's European Commissioner...
(Commissioner for the Internal Market), László Kovács, Javier SolanaJavier SolanaFrancisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
, Franco Frattini, - Eminent legal experts including Lord Goldsmith PC QC, Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgRuth Bader GinsburgRuth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
(US Supreme Court); - Leaders of international financial institutions such as James D. Wolfensohn, Pascal LamyPascal LamyPascal Lamy is the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, a French political advisor, a businessman, and a former European Commissioner for Trade...
, Hans TietmeyerHans TietmeyerHans Tietmeyer is a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remains one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union....
, and Jean Claude Trichet; - International business leaders: Peter SutherlandPeter SutherlandPeter Denis Sutherland, KCMG is an Irish international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party . He is a barrister by profession, and is also Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar...
(Chair of BP and Goldman Sachs), Martin Broughton (Chair of British Airways), Niall FitzGeraldNiall FitzGeraldNiall FitzGerald, KBE is an Irish businessman. FitzGerald grew up in Limerick, Ireland and was educated at St Munchin's College in Limerick. He graduated with a degree in Commerce from University College Dublin...
(Chair of Reuters), and Willie WalshWillie WalshWillie Walsh is an Irish airline executive who is CEO of International Airlines Group and the former CEO of Aer Lingus and British Airways.-Early life:...
(CEO of British Airways); - Leaders of international bodies include: Hans BlixHans Blixis a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs . Blix was also the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos...
(Chairman of the WMD Commission), Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)), Rajendra K. PachauriRajendra K. PachauriRajendra Kumar Pachauri has served as the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002, during which his tenure has engendered controversy. He is also been director general of TERI, a research and policy organization in India, and chancellor of TERI University...
, (chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change); - Global thought leaders include: Jeffrey SachsJeffrey SachsJeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became known for his role as an adviser to Eastern European and developing country governments in the...
(Columbia University), Jeremy RifkinJeremy RifkinJeremy Rifkin is an American economist, writer, public speaker, political advisor and activist. He is the founder and president of the Foundation On Economic Trends...
(Wharton School of Business) - Digital thought leaders include: Larry SangerLarry SangerLawrence Mark "Larry" Sanger is an American philosopher, co-founder of Wikipedia, and the founder of Citizendium....
(co-founder of Wikipedia), Jonathan ZittrainJonathan ZittrainJonathan L. Zittrain is a US professor of Internet law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a faculty co-director of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society...
(Harvard Law School Berkman Centre), Toomas Ilves (President of Estonia and early E-infrastructure advocate)
Peter Bergen
Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist, author, and CNN's national security analyst. Bergen produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden in 1997. The interview, which aired on CNN, marked the first time that bin Laden declared war against the United States to a Western...
, Magnus Ranstorp
Magnus Ranstorp
Dr Magnus Ranstorp, born March 13, 1965 in Hästveda, studies Hizballah, Hamas, al-Qaeda and other militant Islamic movements. He is the Research Director of the Centre for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College, directing a project on Strategic Terrorist Threats to Europe...
, Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman is the Director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and a specialist in the study of terrorism and counter-insurgency...
, and Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss academic, poet and writer. He is also a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University...
.
Research
The Institute’s Research Department provides early warning of legislative and regulatory developments, and produces in-depth analysis of a wide range of policy issues. Recent publications from the Research Department include a National Energy Efficiency Retrofit Plan, an analysis of the Irish agri-food industry, a series of papers on the International Financial Crisis and research on Digital and ICT issues.In addition to its dedicated core staff of full-time researchers, the Research Department also draws upon expertise from the Institute’s membership, including former Taoisigh
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
(Prime Ministers of Ireland), Ministers, Secretaries General, business leaders, leaders of ICT EMEA head quarters, journalists and academics. Its high-level working groups discuss specific policy areas of relevance to the business and policy community. Each group has a high-calibre chair and project leader, and meets at regular intervals with contributions from visiting experts.
Membership
The Institute is primarily funded by membership subscriptions.Their members include:
Embassies - 53 out of 62 Embassies in Ireland
Energy - 14 leading companies including ESB, Bord Gas, Bord na Mona, SEI, Eirgrid, Codema
Education - 5 leading organizations including Trinity, UCD, UCC and Leargas
Banking & Finance - 11 leading organizations including AIB, BOI, Goldman Sachs, the Central Bank and Irish Life & Permanent
Government Departments - 18 Government Departments including Department of Taoiseach
Government Bodies - All major government bodies including the Dail, the Senate, the Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin City Council and others
Law - 6 Major Law firms including Arthur Cox, BCM Hanby Wallace, William Fry and Mason Hayes & Curran
Retail - Retail leaders including Tesco, Diageo and the Smurfit Kappa Group
Semi-States - 11 Semi-State bodies including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Dublin Airport Authority and CEI
Technology - Technology leaders including Google, Microsoft and Realex Payments
Telecomms - 4 Telecomms Organisations including Vodafone, BT and ComReg
Social Partners - 4 including IBEC, IMPACT, INTO and Siptu
Individual members include former heads of state and government, government ministers, parliamentarians, Secretaries General of government departments and other senior Civil Service officials, company chairpersons and CEO's and senior managers, members of the judiciary, ambassadors, senior barristers, partners in solicitors' firms, senior representatives from trade unions, academia, NGOs and professional and sectoral associations. Further, any interested individual can apply for membership.
Structure
Management and StaffThe post of Director General of the Institute is held by Daithi O'Ceallaigh. Jill Donoghue is the Director of Research.
There are also Directors of Finance, Communications and Development, three general administrative staff and an IT administrator.
Oversight
There is a Management Team, of which the Chairman is Brendan Halligan
Brendan Halligan
Brendan Halligan is an Irish economist and a former Labour Party politician.Brendan Halligan was born in Dublin in 1936. Educated at St James’s Christian Brothers School and Kevin Street College of Technology, Dublin, his early career was as an economist. He worked with the Irish Sugar Company...
, former Secretary General of the Labour Party, with six Vice-Chairpersons, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
The membership elects an Executive Committee, with over 45 members.
Honorary positions
Patron Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
President of Ireland
President Dr. Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
former Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
(prime minister) of Ireland
Members of the Comite d'Honneur: former Irish prime ministers Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
, T.D. and John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
(now Ambassador of the European Union to the USA), Charles McCreevy European Commissioner for Internal Trade, Dr Patrick Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973...
former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
former President of Ireland, Albert Reynolds
Albert Reynolds
Albert Reynolds , served as Taoiseach of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize...
former Taoiseach, Pat Cox
Pat Cox
Pat Cox is an Irish politician and former television current affairs presenter. He was President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the European Parliament from 1989–2004....
former President of the European Parliament, Richard Burke former European Commissioner, David Byrne
David Byrne (politician)
David Byrne is an Irish senior counsel, former Attorney General of Ireland and former EU Commissioner. In December 2006 Byrne was appointed as Chancellor of Dublin City University....
former European Commissioner, Pádraig Flynn
Padraig Flynn
Pádraig "Pee" Flynn is a former Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála in 1977. He was returned at each subsequent election until 1993...
former European Commissioner, Ray MacSharry
Ray MacSharry
Raymond MacSharry is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a range of cabinet positions, most notably as Tánaiste, Minister for Finance and European Commissioner.-Early life:...
former European Commissioner, Micheal O'Kennedy former European Commissioner, Peter Sutherland
Peter Sutherland
Peter Denis Sutherland, KCMG is an Irish international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party . He is a barrister by profession, and is also Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar...
former European Commissioner.