Attorney general, EU Commissioner, chairman of one of the world's biggest companies and now UN representative - Peter Sutherland has a CV that must be the envy of business people and politicians everywhere.
The 59-year-old former barrister was Ireland's fifth EU commissioner between 1985 and 1989 and his widely praised performance in the competition portfolio prompted speculation that he would be appointed as commission president.
However, the then Fianna Fáil government declined to support Sutherland, who has Fine Gael links.
Instead, he served for five years as chairman of AIB and became director general of the World Trade Organisation. He has been chairman of Goldman Sachs International since 1995 and BP since 1997.
Educated at Gonzaga College, UCD and King's Inns, he is chairman of the Trilateral Commission, an elite US-Europe discussion group.