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Irish Independent
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
‘My parents said I had every opportunity my brothers had' – Mary Robinson on growing up in Ireland
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that her parents, Aubrey and Tessa Bourke, who were medical doctors in Ballina, Co Mayo, had always supported her education. In an interview with Transcending Boundaries on CNBC Africa, she said: "With four brothers, two older and two younger, of course, I had to learn about gender equality and human rights. "What my parents kept saying, that had more influence on me: 'Mary, you have every opportunity your brothers have. You're bright, you're doing well in school. You've got to believe in yourself. You have every opportunity'. And Irish society was telling me something very different. "My brothers were altar boys. There was no such thing as an altar girl. We were a very religious Catholic family. My grandparents went to mass daily, we went every week on Sundays. I had to wear this awful scarf in church. I was a girl, and there was no doubt in my mind that there was a difference. "My father would say he'd just been at a poor home where there was a midwife, but he'd come as the doctor, and then the question from the parents: 'Doctor, is it a boy or a child?' Even then, you knew the boy was what mattered. And that was 80 years ago in Ireland. "So, that brought me to a sense that my parents think I have the same opportunities. I know I don't, but that's something to work on. I have this inner sense of justice, and I think that's what carried me forward for the rest of my life," she said. As Ireland's first female president from 1990 to 1997, who is also the founding member of the Elders, added that her parents were not "pleased" with her marrying Nicholas Robinson. Ms Robinson met her husband, who is an author, cartoonist and solicitor, while studying Law in Trinity College Dublin. "My parents were not at all pleased, because, in that year after I came back from Harvard in 1969, I became the Reid Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law, and I also got elected to the Irish senate for the university. "All of that meant I was a senator and a professor, and therefore I was on a pedestal with my parents, I think, suffering from what I would call over-love," she said. ADVERTISEMENT When asked if her parents didn't want her to marry a cartoonist, she said: "A cartoonist who was known to have dated a lot of women, and he was also a Protestant. That was probably the least significant, but it was a factor," adding that her parents opposed the marriage and didn't come to their wedding. "I was already well-known in my maiden name, Senator Mary Bourke, because I had proposed family planning, and the Archbishop of Dublin had said that this would be a 'curse upon the country', which was heavy stuff. "We got married with all [Nicholas's] family there, one first cousin came because I needed one family member, and I told my brother who wanted to come: 'No, stay away. We'll keep the family together away,' because I knew, after we married, my parents would be reconciled very quickly, which they were. "And indeed, my mother used to joke that Nick was her favourite son-in-law. In fact, she could only have one," she added.
Zawya
28-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank Presidency Candidate Amadou Hott Unveils Vision for Enhanced Private Sector Engagement
In a recent interview ( with CNBC Africa, Amadou Hott ( a leading candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has outlined a comprehensive strategy to revolutionize the Bank's interaction with the private sector, recognizing its pivotal role in driving African development and African integration. Hott presented one of the key pillars of his proposed action plan: the creation of a dedicated Bank complex, at vice presidency level, for private sector operations. This innovative approach aims to streamline and enhance the AfDB's engagement with businesses operating across the continent, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large conglomerates. Currently, the Bank's non-sovereign operations represent roughly 20% of the overall volume of its operations. 'It is only by working with the private sector that we can address debt vulnerability, enable job creation, and take the African Development Fund to the market. This dedicated vice-presidency could also become an ally in supporting countries' endeavors to transform informal segments of their economies,' Hott told CNBC Africa's Fifi Peters on the sidelines of the Finance in Common Summit in Cape Town this week. By establishing this specialized complex, Hott aims to facilitate more efficient collaboration between the Bank and private businesses, and to develop tailored credit lines and guarantees towards African banks. These collaborations are aimed at supporting job creation and the growth of Africa's private sector. The proposed vice-presidency for private sector operations reflects Hott's deep understanding of both African development challenges and the inner workings of the African Development Bank Group. His resume speaks to his extensive experience working at and with the Bank: He served as the first Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group's complex dedicated to the energy sector, climate, and green growth. He was Governor of the Bank while serving as Senegal's Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation. He served as Special Envoy for Climate and for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa. Additional Key Pillars of Hott's Strategy Amadou Hott's visionary approach to leading the African Development Bank promises to usher in a new era of collaboration between the public and private sectors, potentially catalyzing unprecedented economic growth and development across the African continent. Hott's comprehensive plan for the AfDB extends beyond private sector engagement, encompassing several other critical areas. These include fast-tracking the delivery of projects related to universal energy access, enhancing resource mobilization through hybrid capital, and improving institutional capacity building by strengthening the Bank's internal capabilities to better serve its member countries. Senegal's Amadou Hott pitches for AfDB presidency: Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amadou Hott, Candidate for the Presidency of the African Development Bank Group.
