The Government has announced plans for the most extensive round of senior diplomatic changes in the history of the State, which will see appointments to 24 ambassadorial posts, including four new missions.
The changes were approved by the Cabinet yesterday.
They still require the formal agreement of the receiving governments and are expected to take effect over the summer.
There will be new ambassadors to the European Union and the United Nations as well as in major posts such as Japan and France. Ireland will have ambassadors for the first time resident in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.
Among the more significant changes is the move of Anne Anderson, permanent representative to the EU in Brussels, to become ambassador to France. Incumbent Pádraic MacKernan is to retire shortly. Bobby McDonagh, currently director general of the Department of Foreign Affairs EU division, is to become permanent representative to the EU in Brussels, replacing Ms Anderson.
David Cooney, the department's political director, is to be appointed permanent representative to the United Nations at New York. He will replace Richard Ryan who is to be made ambassador to the Netherlands.
Brendan Scannell, now second secretary in charge of the Anglo-Irish division, will become ambassador to Japan, replacing Pádraig Murphy, who will retire shortly.
The current ambassador to Spain, Declan O'Donovan, will move to Poland; the consul general in New York, Eugene Hutchinson, moves to Malaysia as ambassador; and ambassador to Poland Thelma Doran moves to Norway.
First-time ambassadors include Dermot Brangan, who becomes ambassador to Mexico, Michael Forbes, who becomes ambassador to Israel, Donal Denham, who becomes ambassador to Lithuania, and Tim Mawe, who becomes ambassador to Latvia.
Several appointments are also to be made to senior posts at the department's headquarters at Iveagh House.
Dan Mulhall, ambassador to Malaysia, who received some prominence after the tsunami, will become director general of the EU division; Rory Montgomery becomes political director; Patrick Hennessy head of the Anglo-Irish division; Kathleen White chief of protocol; Ray Bassett head of the consular division; John Neary head of the inspection and internal audit unit; and Brendan Rogers deputy director general in the development co-operation division, a new post.
A spokesman for Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said yesterday that the scope of the changes "reflects Ireland's growing importance on the world stage in terms of the UN, the EU and Asia. Our missions abroad fulfil a key and fundamental function in projecting Ireland's message and its interests abroad."