Rory Montgomery, who marshalled business as Ireland’s permanent representative to the EU, is not resting on his laurels.
The laurels awarded at the end of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of Ministers have barely had time to wither, but Rory Montgomery, who marshalled business as Ireland’s permanent representative to the EU, is not resting on them. Last week he moved on to his next posting, as ambassador in Paris.
His replacement is Declan Kelleher, who will bring useful expertise: he has spent the last nine years as Ireland’s ambassador to China. Kelleher is no stranger to Brussels, though. He was here from 2000-04 as ambassador to the EU’s political and security committee, and chaired the PSC during Ireland’s 2004 presidency of the Council.
Another returnee who is joining the committee of permanent representatives will be Ivan Rogers, who, it was confirmed last week, will become the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the EU at the beginning of October. He is to take over from Jon Cunliffe, who is off to be the deputy governor of the Bank of England. In a previous incarnation, Rogers was head of the private office of Leon Brittan, then the European commissioner for trade. He joined that office in 1995, and his deputies there were successively Catherine Day, now the Commission’s secretary-general, Robert Madelin, now a Commission director-general for communications, and Simon Fraser, now the most senior official in the UK’s foreign office.