Gerard Kiely appointed head of European Commission’s office in Ireland

Career EU civil servant Gerard Kiely has been appointed head of the European Commission’s representation in Ireland, taking up the post on October 1st.

Mr Kiely has more than 30 years experience of European and international affairs, having worked for eight years at the Irish Farmers Association, based first in Ireland and later in Belgium as director of its Brussels office.

He joined the European civil service in 1989 and became spokesman for agriculture commissioners Ray MacSharry, René Steichen and Franz Fischler, staying in this post until 1999.

He served from 2000 to 2003 as head of the agriculture, food safety, consumer affairs and fisheries section of the EU delegation in Washington DC. More recently, he occupied a series of managerial posts in the directorate general for agriculture, including over the last six years as head of the unit for pre-accession assistance.

Barbara Nolan, who has been head of representation in Ireland since 2010, is returning to commission headquarters in Brussels to take up a management position dealing with education policy.