Ireland officially nominated former EU agriculture and trade commissioner Phil Hogan to the top job at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the government said today.
Hogan’s name emerged last week as a potential contender for the role of FAO director, with Ireland’s Department of Agriculture signaling him as their preferred candidate.
The Irish politician played a significant role pushing forward the Mercosur agreement during his time as the EU’s farm chief under under Jean-Claude Juncker, before briefly serving as trade commissioner in Ursula von der Leyen’s first Commission. He resigned in 2020, after he attended a dinner that breached Ireland’s coronavirus restrictions in the so-called Golfgate scandal.
Currently leading the Rome-based U.N. agency is Qu Dongyu, a Chinese politician whose term will end in mid-2027. Italy has formally nominated former farm minister and current FAO deputy director-general Maurizio Martina.