One of Ireland's most formidable political professionals, Pat Cox was born in Dublin in 1952.
The family moved to Limerick when he was eight, and he was educated by the Christian Brothers.
He later attended TCD and graduated with a degree in economics in 1974.
He lectured in the subject in the Institute of Public Administration and later in the National Institute for Higher Education in Limerick (now subsumed into the University of Limerick).
He was an unsuccessful Dáil candidate for Fianna Fáil in Limerick in the 1979 general election.
Three years later he took a high-profile job as a presenter on the RTÉ current affairs programme Today Tonight.
In 1986 he became general secretary of the newly-founded Progressive Democrats.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989.
He won a Dáil seat in Cork South Central in 1992 and, when Des O'Malley resigned suddenly as PD leader, Cox stood against Mary Harney for the position but was defeated.
He later resigned from the PDs and stood as an Independent candidate in the 1994 European elections, defeating O'Malley by just 3,000 votes. He resigned his Dáil seat.
Back in Strasbourg he devoted himself to European politics and was elected deputy leader of the liberal group in the parliament.
In 1998 he was elected president of the Liberal grouping in the parliament and encouraged them to form strategic alliances.
They eventually replaced the Socialists in the deal which saw the position of President rotated between the Socialists and Conservatives.
He played a leading role in the campaign for greater accountability to the parliament by the European Commission, which eventually led to the commission stepping down in March 1999.
The incident greatly increased the standing of the parliament. He was re-elected MEP in 1999.
He is married with six children.