An Irishwoman, Ms Catherine Day (45), has been appointed deputy head of the European Commission's directorate for external relations, in charge of relations with the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East and the states of the Mediterranean.
With her appointment to the £104,000-a-year job, Ms Day joins Mr David O'Sullivan, the chef de cabinet to the Commission President. It is one of the two A1 posts at the top of the Commission's hierarchy occupied by Irish people, and Ms Day is one of only two women at this level. Ireland has five A2 grades, one of whom is a woman.
Ms Day was educated at Mount Anville, Dublin. She then studied at University College Dublin, before joining the Investment Bank of Ireland and later the Confederation of Irish Industry. Her father, Mr Reddy Day, was an official in the Department of Agriculture and then general manager of the Pigs and Bacon Commission.
Ms Day joined the Commission in 1979 and by 1982 was appointed to Mr Dick Burke's cabinet. Since then she has served 14 years in cabinets, Mr Burke's, Mr Peter Sutherland's, and for part of Sir Leon Brittan's term.
In 1996 Ms Day returned to the Commission to take over relations with former Yugoslavia and Turkey.
More recently she was given charge of co-ordinating the pre-accession strategies for the candidate countries, including the management of the massive Phare budget.
Her appointment coincides with the decision of the Commission, announced by the Commissioner for Internal Reform, Mr Neil Kinnock, yesterday, to dismantle the quota system for appointments to top jobs.
In future all member-states will be guaranteed only one director-general or equivalent, with all posts allocated on a merit basis.
