Mary Robinson has been a leading campaigner for human rights throughout her life. She served as the first female President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997. At the end of her tenure, in recognition of her commitment to justice and equality, she was appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position she held between 1997 and 2002.

Dr. Robinson is widely recognised for having developed a new level of engagement between Ireland and the developing world during her Presidency. She was the first head of state to visit famine stricken Somalia, and the first to visit Rwanda after the genocide.

Since leaving the UN in 2002, Dr. Robinson has continued to champion developing world issues through the founding of Realizing Rights, an ethical globalisation initiative focusing on developing fair and equitable trade, strengthening responses to HIV/AIDS and shaping more humane migration policies.

Dr. Robinson has received widespread recognition for her efforts in the international arena. In 2004, she was made an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience'. She is the honorary president of Oxfam International and a member of the Global Elders. She is a leader in the Club of Madrid of former democratic heads of state and government, as well as a founding member and Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders. Among her awards are the North-South Prize (1997), the Sydney Peace Prize (2002), the prestigious Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold (2003) and the Social Science Principe de Asturias Prize (2006). t Dr. Robinson is the 24th, and first female, Chancellor of the University of Dublin.