Art O’Leary appointed secretary-general to President

Senior civil servant Art O’Leary has been appointed secretary-general to the President, the Government has announced.

His appointment comes after the earlier appointment of current secretary-general to the President, Adrian O’Neill, to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Mr O’Leary is currently a principal officer in the Department of the Taoiseach and until recently was secretary to the Convention on the Constitution. He is expected to take up his new role shortly.

Born in December 1966, he was educated at Ard Scoil Rís, Marino, and later received an MBA from Henley Business School.

He joined the Department of Social Protection in 1984 and the Houses of the Oireachtas in 1990.

Outgoing secretary-general Adrian O’Neill was appointed to the position in 2010 and announced his decision to return to the Department of Foreign Affairs in April. He said it had been an “honour” to serve under President Michael D Higgins and his predecessor Mary McAleese.

Mr Higgins congratulated Mr O’Neill on his new role and thanked him “for his valuable contributions and commitment to the office over recent years and, in particular, for his role in the recent State visit to the UK”.