UN: An Irish lawyer who has just been appointed to the first International Criminal Court is little known outside legal circles, but is widely respected there.
Judge Maureen Harding Clark was described as "Ireland's leading woman criminal lawyer" by the Government when it nominated her as a candidate to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague, to which she was elected by the UN over a year ago.
Before that she had worked mainly as prosecuting counsel for the State, prosecuting many of the biggest criminal cases, including the first male rape trial and the first marital rape trial. She was also the lead counsel in the first money-laundering trial.
"Tough-minded" is the adjective most commonly used by colleagues who saw her at work in court. "If she was prosecuting in your case you knew you were being prosecuted," said one.
"She's not daunted by challenges from the bench or anywhere else. She's no pushover, but she's not stubborn or intransigent either."
Her tenacity and toughness were tested in her personal as well as her professional life, as she found herself a single parent of two young children while still studying law.
There were only about 20 women at the Bar when she was called in 1975, and fewer still in criminal law.
She then embarked on one of the most gruelling paths to professional success, on the south-eastern circuit, working as State prosecutor for Tipperary until 1991, when she became a senior counsel and most of her work was in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
She spent her childhood in Malaya, where her father worked as an engineer, and speaks fluent French and Malay.
Her ease with French culture and familiarity with the Far East undoubtedly contributed to her latest success.
Ireland was one of only 10 of the 43 countries to submit the names of women candidates for the position. The others were Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Hungary, Latvia, Mali, Poland, South Africa and Switzerland.
Significantly six of these were among the first seven judges elected yesterday.