Women make up half of the 22 ambassadorial appointments approved by the Government at a meeting on Tuesday, with appointees including women ambassadors to the Vatican, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Seven women are also among the nine consuls general appointed by the Government, in a slate of senior diplomatic moves.
All ambassador-level appointments are subject to the agreement of the host state, although this is usually a formality.
It is understood to be the first time that women have made up half of all the nominees in one of the twice-yearly rounds of ambassadorial appointments. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, when the latest appointments are finalised next year, “the percentage of female Heads of Mission will be 46 per cent, up from 36 per cent one year ago”.
Four new missions are to be opened next year, part of a significant expansion in the State's representation around the world. They are an Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, and Consulates General in Miami, Lyon and Toronto.
In a statement on all of the new appointments, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: "I welcome these new appointments which are a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to deliver on the ambition of the Global Ireland programme by expanding our global footprint with the planned opening of four new missions. This will bring to 18 the total number of new missions opened under the Global Ireland initiative by the end of 2022.
“I am also pleased to see the ongoing efforts by the Department of Foreign Affairs in its efforts to reach an improved gender balance in senior-level positions both at headquarters and at our missions abroad.”
The full list of appointments is:
Mr Laurence Simms to be Joint Secretary to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast; Ms Cáit Moran to be Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee at the Permanent Representation to the EU, Brussels; Mr Noel White to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations and other International Organisations at Geneva; Mr Patrick Empey to be Ambassador to Mozambique (and to Madagascar and Eswatini); Mr Derek Hannon to be Ambassador to Senegal (and Mali and The Gambia) to open the Embassy in Dakar; Mr Gerard McCoy to be Ambassador to Argentina (and to Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay); Mr Damien Cole to be Ambassador to Japan; Ms Michelle Winthrop to be Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (and to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)); Ms Jane Connolly to be Ambassador to New Zealand (and to Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Tonga, and the Cook Islands); Ms Sarah McGrath to be Ambassador to Singapore (and to Brunei and Timor Leste); Mr Pat Bourne to be Ambassador to Thailand; Ms Elizabeth McCullough to be Ambassador to Denmark; Mr James Sherry to be Ambassador to Estonia; Ms Frances Collins to be Ambassador to the Holy See; Ms Séadhna MacHugh to be Ambassador to Lithuania; Ms Caroline Whelan to be Ambassador to Malta; Mr Patrick Haughey to be Ambassador to Poland; Mr Adrian Farrell to be Ambassador to Slovenia (and to Bosnia and Herzegovina); Ms Nuala O'Brien to be Ambassador to Egypt (and to Lebanon); Ms Marianne Bolger to be Ambassador to Jordan (and to Iraq); Mr Gerard Cunningham to be Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (and to Bahrain, Oman and Yemen); Ms Alison Milton to be Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (and to Kuwait and Qatar).
Ms Caoimhe Ní Chonchúir to be Consul General in Atlanta, Georgia, US; Mr Robert Hull to be Consul General in Austin, Texas, US; Ms Denise McQuade to be Consul General in Cardiff, Wales; Ms Ciara de Mora to open the Consulate General in Lyon, France; Ms Sarah Kavanagh to be Consul General in Miami, to open the Consulate General; Ms Anita Kelly to be Consul General in Mumbai, India; Mr Micheál Smith to be Consul General in San Francisco; Ms Janice McGann to be Consul General in Toronto, to open the Consulate General; Ms Cathy Geagan to be Consul General in Vancouver.
