Peter Sutherland

Life & Legacy

Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in various international organisations, political and business roles.
Sutherland was the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration until March 2017. Appointed in January 2006, he was responsible for the creation of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). He also served as President of the International Catholic Migration Commission, as well as a member of the Migration Advisory Board of the International Organization for Migration. He was a board member of Wallenberg-owned ABB and the Wallenbergs' conglomerate holding company, Investor AB.
A barrister by profession, Sutherland was a Senior Counsel of the Bar Council of Ireland. He previously served as Attorney General of Ireland (1981–1982, 1982–1984); European Commissioner for Competition (1985–1989); founding Director-General of the World Trade Organization, formerly GATT (1993–1995); and chairman of Goldman Sachs International (1995–2015). He received numerous awards, including the European Person of the Year Award (1988).