November 8, 1990 - Mary Robinson

Ireland elects first woman president. Mary Robinson served as an Irish senator for 20 years, simultaneously working as a civil and human rights lawyer. She ran unsuccessfully for Parliament under the Labour Party twice, then made a run for president as an Independent a few years after leaving the Labour Party. On November 8, 1990, Robinson became Ireland’s first woman president. By Irish standards, she was considered a radical for her campaigns to liberalize divorce and abortion laws in the heavily Catholic country. Before she took the helm, the presidential role was largely ceremonial. She raised its status through her dedicated work on humanity issues at both the national and international level. Robinson left her presidential post one year early in 1997 to become the United Nations commissioner for human rights.

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