Ms Geraldine Kennedy has been appointed as editor of The Irish Times, it was announced this afternoon. She succeeds Mr Conor Brady who held the position for 16 years.
Ms Kennedy has previously been Political Editor and Duty Editor, Political Correspondent and Public Affairs Correspondent of the newspaper.
She held the post of Political Correspondent at The Sunday Tribunefrom 1980 to 1982 and she was Political Correspondent of The Sunday Pressfrom 1982 to 1987.
In 1987 she was elected to the Dail as a Progressive Democrat deputy for Dun Laoghaire and was the party spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Northern Ireland.
In 1987, along with Irish Independentjournalist, Mr Bruce Arnold, she successfully sued the State for invasion of privacy.
The journalists' telephones had been tapped on foot of a warrant signed by the then Minister for Justice, Mr Sean Doherty. The High Court determined that the tapping was unconstitutional and an abuse of power by the State.
Ms Kennedy is a native of Carrick-on-Suir Co Tipperary. She was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Ferrybank, Waterford and at the Rathmines College of Commerce (now DIT).
She holds the diploma in Managing Media Innovation of the Scandinavian International Management Institute. She is 51 years of age and is married with two daughters.
Mr Brady was appointed editor of The Irish Timesin 1986. He first joined theNewspaper in 1969 on graduation from UCD.He was appointed as editor in1986 in succession to Mr Douglas Gageby.
Over the period of his editorship, the newspaper's audited daily circulationgrew from 80,000 to almost 120,000.
The trust and board of The Irish Timeshave asked him to take the honorary title of Editor Emeritus. He will remain on the board for a period as a non-executive director.