Government nominates Phil Hogan as candidate for senior UN position 

A Government statement said Ireland had a strong relationship with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and had been encouraged to nominate a candidate.

The Government has confirmed that former EU Commissioner and environment minister Phil Hogan has been nominated as Ireland’s candidate to be the next director-general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The nomination was brought to Tuesday's Cabinet meeting by agriculture minister Martin Heydon.

The UN position is due to be filled later this year as the current holder of the office, China's Qu Dongyu, finishes in the middle of 2027.

It has been 50 years since the FAO has had a director-general from a European country, and sources said that Mr Hogan’s candidacy will command support from Europe as there is significant interest among EU Member States in putting forward a strong European candidate for the forthcoming election. 

A Government statement said Ireland had a strong relationship with the FAO and had been encouraged to nominate a candidate.

The Government agreed in December to an open Expressions of Interest process to identify suitably qualified Irish candidates and a high-level independent selection board of four people assessed the applications received.

"Following a detailed evaluation by the selection board, Mr Hogan’s name as the highest-ranked candidate was provided to Minister Heydon, who submitted a memo to the Government for consideration today. As a result, Phil Hogan’s name will now go forward as the Irish candidate for the UN position," a statement said.

Any costs to the Exchequer will be "proportionate and managed within existing Departmental and diplomatic resources". 

It is expected that Mr Hogan will cover any additional personal or campaign-related costs. Two Department of Agriculture staff will assist the campaign in addition to their other duties on a part-time basis.

Golfgate

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 when the country was under a covid lockdown.

His resignation followed a demand from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for him to account for his time in Ireland following public outcry, after the Golfgate event was revealed by the Irish Examiner.

Golfgate saw the Irish Examiner reveal details of a 2020 Oireachtas golf event in Clifden, Co Gawlay, in which 82 guests attended.

At the time, Mr Hogan did apologise for attending the golf society dinner, but always maintained he did not breach covid 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 said 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.