David Byrne
| David Byrne link Powerbase Sourcewatch Wikiquote (Politician, lawyer,Pharma lobbyist) | |
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| Born | 6 April 1947 Monasterevin, County Kildare,Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Party | Fianna Fáil |
Attorney General of Ireland in the late 1990s, then European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection who introduced a number of Big Pharma-friendly initiatives. Bilderberg/2005. | |
David Byrne is an Irish politician and barrister who was Attorney General of Ireland from 1997 to 1999. He campaigned in favour of Irish entry into the European Community in the 1970s, and has been a keen supporter of European integration ever since.[1][2] As European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection from 1999 to 2004, he introduced a number of Big Pharma-friendly initiatives including creating the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. He attended the 2005 Bilderberg meeting. In 2005 he also became a patron of Health First Europe, a front group for Big Pharma.[3]
Education
Byrne was born in Monasterevin, County Kildare,[4] in 1947. He attended Newbridge College, County Kildare, University College Dublin, and King's Inns, Dublin.
Career in Ireland
He was called to the Bar in 1970, and practiced law in the Irish and European Courts.
He campaigned in favour of Irish entry into the European Community in the 1970s, and has been a keen supporter of European integration ever since.[5][6]
Byrne became a Senior Counsel in 1985. He practiced in both the Irish courts and the European Court of Justice, and was also a member of the International Court of Commercial Arbitration from 1990 to 1997.
In 1997, Byrne became Attorney General of Ireland in the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition government. As one of the negotiators of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, he drafted and oversaw the major constitutional amendments required by that agreement, which were approved by Referendum in May 1998. Byrne also advised on the constitutional amendments necessary for Ireland's ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty. During his tenure, he established the first Food Safety Agency in Europe responsible to the Minister of Health.
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection
Byrne was nominated to the European Commission by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in September 1999, as Ireland's EU Commissioner, and had responsibility for Health and Consumer Protection in the Prodi Commission. Under his leadership, the European Union created the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in 2004.[7] He sat until October 30, 2004.
In 2005 he became a patron of Health First Europe, a front group for Big Pharma.[8] Byrne contributed an essay entitled "The Future of Health "sans cordon sanitaire" in a collection of essays entitled "2050 A Health Odyssey: Thought Provoking Ideas for Policy Making" published by Health First Europe. His conclusion: "The future of global public health is a future not characterised by isolation, but by global cooperation, global governance and global partnership."[3]
World Health Organization
When he concluded his Brussels job,[9] Byrne acted as WHO Special Envoy on the revision of the International Health Regulations for a six-month period[10] following a series of declarations of SARS and avian influenza "outbreaks". [11]
Byrne was mooted as a potential candidate for the position of Director General of the World Health Organization following the death of the incumbent, Lee Jong-wook in 2006. However, he was eventually not included in the list of 13 candidates to head the agency.[12]
Life after politics
After leaving the European Commission, Byrne has held a variety of well paid positions, including the following:
- European Alliance for Personalised Medicine, Co-Chair[13]
- FleishmanHillard, Member of the International Advisory Board[14]
- Health First Europe (HFE), Patron[15]
- International Prevention Research Institute (iPRI), Chairman of the Ethics Committee[16]
- National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), Chairman of the Advisory Committee
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Of counsel
- World Justice Project, Honorary Co-Chair[17]
- World Prevention Alliance, Honorary Chair Member[18]
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122172441/http://www.politico.eu/article/voice-of-calm/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171005201619/http://www.dcu.ie/news/2006/dec/s1206d.shtml
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 See https://powerbase.info/index.php/David_Byrne
- ↑ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/byrne-to-step-down-as-irish-eu-commissioner-1.979713
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122172441/http://www.politico.eu/article/voice-of-calm/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171005201619/http://www.dcu.ie/news/2006/dec/s1206d.shtml
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122170933/http://www.politico.eu/article/byrne-denies-slow-reaction-to-avian-flu/
- ↑ See https://powerbase.info/index.php/David_Byrne
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121011103341/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0811/1154691577361.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161220120600/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/byrne-not-on-list-of-candidates-for-who-job-1.795880
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122160353/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2004/pr73/en/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161220120600/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/byrne-not-on-list-of-candidates-for-who-job-1.795880
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122221359/http://www.euapm.eu/board-and-staff.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122155214/http://fleishmanhillard.com/2010/07/news-and-opinions/eu-policymaker-guenter-verheugen-joins-fleishman-hillards-international-advisory-board/
- ↑ https://healthfirsteurope.eu/news/david-byrne-has-become-a-patron-of-health-first-europe/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220120171623/https://i-pri.org/about-us/people/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161121174634/http://worldjusticeproject.org/honorary-chairs
- ↑ https://worldjusticeproject.org/about-us/who-we-are/honorary-chairs/david_byrne-sc
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