A former minister for foreign affairs and EU commissioner, Mr Michael O'Kennedy, has been appointed the new Irish co-chairman of the BritishIrish Interparliamentary Body.
Mr O'Kennedy (61) was one of two unsuccessful candidates for the recent Fianna Fail nomination for the Presidency. His new British counterpart will be selected at Westminster next week, and both will take up their roles on December 1st when the body meets in London.
They replace outgoing cochairmen Mr Paul Bradford (Fine Gael TD for Cork East) and Mr Peter Temple-Morris.
The body's membership is drawn from both Houses of the Oireachtas and Westminster.