Mary Robinson is the former President of Ireland (1990-1997) and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002). Before acceding to the presidency, she was a senator in the Irish Parliament from 1969 to 1989, where she championed gender equality. In 2002, she founded Realizing Rights: The Ethical Global Initiative, an NGO that worked to position human rights standards at the heart of global governance and policymaking. In 2010, she founded the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, whose mission is to make justice and equity a centerpiece of the global response to climate change and to give voice to affected poor and vulnerable communities. In 2013, she was appointed the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa.