In line with similar national processes, an independent Chairperson was selected to chair the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.
The Chair was appointed having regard to the remit of the Consultative Forum and, consequently, to the competencies, skills and experience required to conduct same.
Louise Richardson DBE, the highly-respected President of the Carnegie Corporation and former vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, has agreed to take on the important role.
I am confident that Ms. Richardson, who is a native of County Waterford, and a distinguished political scientist with a strong expertise in security policy in her own right, will play a hugely positive role in chairing and overseeing the discussions.