United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
The United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (officially the Special Envoy of the President and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) is the top U.S. diplomat supporting the Northern Ireland peace process.[1] The position is held by Joe Kennedy III, appointed by President Joe Biden on December 19, 2022.[2]
Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
George Mitchell[edit]
Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign promise to appoint a peace envoy to Belfast initially "infuriated" the British Government.[8] No appointment was made until 1995, when Clinton selected former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell as Special Envoy. Mitchell was recognised as being more than a token envoy but someone representing a President with a deep interest in events.[8] However, around the time of Mitchell's appointment, it was agreed with both the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major and Taoiseach John Bruton that Mitchell would chair an international commission on disarmament of paramilitary groups.[9] Mitchell went on to successfully chair the talks that resulted in the Good Friday Agreement.
James (Jim) Lyons succeeded Sen George Mitchell as Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for Economic Initiatives in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of the Republic in 1996. He had previously been appointed US Observer to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) by President Clinton in 1993.Combing both roles, Lyons over saw US participation in IFI cross community projects. He coordinated the efforts of US agencies for inward foreign investment and cross Atlantic business to business partnerships and joint ventures. He also developed the Northern Ireland micro lending fund, Aspire, which was the first such fund in western Europe. Lyons served in both roles until the end of the Clinton Administration in 2001. Independent review confirmed that the US contribution to the IFI exceeded $100 million and assisted in funding over 4,000 projects which created some 22,000 permanent jobs and leveraged investment of approximately $2 billion (The independent KPMG audit of the International (IFI) Fund and a review of the Fund by a British-Irish Interparliamentary Committee).
Later envoys[edit]
The United States has continued to support the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and has demonstrated its readiness to assist the process in any way.[10] On June 10, 2003, President George W. Bush announced his intention to designate Ambassador Richard N. Haass as the Special Envoy.[10] Haass was an active Envoy. In 2001, within a week of the September 11 attacks, Haass warned Irish Republicans that the suspected links between the IRA and Colombian terrorist groups could have "potentially serious consequences for the role of the United States in the peace process".[8] Later, Haass attacked then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble for setting a deadline for pulling out of power-sharing, accusing him of adding to a sense of crisis.[8]
Later, Mitchell Reiss was appointed as the Special Envoy. At the invitation of the British and Irish governments, Reiss participated in the peace process negotiations that took place at Leeds Castle in 2004.[11] On February 15, 2007, Paula Dobriansky, U.S. Undersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the State Department, was named the Special Envoy for Northern Ireland.[12] The transition from the former Special Envoy, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, took place on February 15, 2007.[13] In February 2008, Special Envoy Dobriansky led a trade mission to Belfast.[14] Until the inauguration of Donald Trump, the Special Envoy was former Colorado Senator, Gary Hart. On March 6, 2020, President Trump appointed his former acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to fill this position.
Each of the Special Envoys has periodically reported to U.S. Congressional committees on their activities and the status of the Northern Ireland peace process and other matters concerning Northern Ireland.[1][15][16]