Phil Hogan seeks Government support in running for senior UN role
Former EU Commissioner and Environment Minister is seeking Government support to head up a key UN agency.
The role of director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is due to be filled later this year as the current holder of the office, China's Qu Dongyu, ends in the middle of 2027.
Government sources told the Irish Examiner that they were aware that Mr Hogan had submitted his name to the Department of Agriculture ahead of a January 23rd deadline, but that there had been no discussions at Cabinet level.
Mr Hogan would have to be put forward by the Irish government for the role and would then need EU backing. The EU is a full member of the FAO and has preferred to put forward a single candidate.
A Department of Agriculture spokesperson told the paper that it could not comment on who may have put themselves forward for the role.
"The expressions of interest to participate in a selection process from which a candidate may be selected to be the Irish nominee for the position of Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in Rome (FAO) is ongoing, therefore the Department cannot comment."
Mr Hogan, a former senior Fine Gael minister was seen as a heavy hitter at the top tier of the European Commission in the Trade portfolio before his resignation amid controversy about his movements across Ireland at a time of severe lockdown.
His resignation followed a demand from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for him to account for his time in Ireland following the public outcry once the Golfgate event was revealed by the
At the time, Mr Hogan did apologise for attending the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, Co Galway, but always maintained he did not breach Covid-19 quarantine rules.
He would later seek to blame Taoiseach Micheál Martin and then-Tánaiste Leo Varadkar for his downfall in 2020.
Mr Varadkar and Mr Martin went on a “populist wave of indignation” in the wake of 'Golfgate' and forced his resignation, Mr Hogan will say in a 2022 interview with RTÉ's Sean O'Rourke.
Following his resignation, Law firm DLA Piper announced that Mr Hogan would join its Brussels office as an adviser as he established a company, Hogan Strategic Advisory Services, which advises a number of major clients.
