Dr Maurice Manning has been appointed as the new President of the Human Rights Commission. He replaces Judge Donal Barrington who is retiring from the position on July 31st.
Dr Manning, a senior academic at University College Dublin, was appointed to the five-year term by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
On his appointment, Dr Manning said he believed the Commission had an enormously important role to play in domestic legislation and administration.
His ambition was to secure the Commission on a secure basis and help it to realise the potential envisaged in its founding legislation, Dr Manning said.
Over a period of 21 years, Dr Manning has sat as a TD and as a senator. He led the Seanad from 1994 to 1997 and served as opposition leader on three occasions.
Among the committees he has served on are the Foreign and European Affairs Committee and the Ethics Committee.
His appointment was welcomed by the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny. He said Dr Manning would bring "an unrivalled professional experience and deep understanding of human and political problems" to the position.