Former Fine Gael Leader, Mr Alan Dukes is to become the new director general of the State's leading EU think-tank, the Institute of European Affairs (IEA).
Mr Dukes, who failed to get re-elected for the Kildare South constituency in the May general election, will replace Mr Joe Brosnan, a former senior European Commission official.
Last night, Mr Dukes said the IEA would play an important role in informing public debate about the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe and other EU issues.
Insisting that the IEA had offered 'non-partisan' information about the EU, he said the criticisms levelled against it by some anti-Nice Treaty campaigners were unfair. "They do the IEA and themselves a disservice by looking at it in this way," Mr Dukes told The Irish Times.
IEA's chairman, Mr Brendan Halligan, said it was "fortunate to secure" Mr Dukes' service "given how eminently qualified and experienced he is for the job".
Funded by private and semi-state companies, the IEA is a self-governing body which has produced a large body of research about the implications for Ireland of EU integration.
