Forty year old, Thurles born, Fianna Fail, Senator John Hanafin has been appointed to the permanent delegation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Current Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Pat Carey recently announced the nomination of the Senator who replaces the former permanent delegate, Senator Deirdre de Burca who resigned some months ago, following disagreements with her Green Party colleagues.
John is the brother of the current Minister for Tourism Culture and Sport, Mary Hanafin and the son of the former Senator, Des Hanafin. He was first elected to the Seanad in 2002 and re-elected in 2007. He was a member of North Tipperary County Council representing the Thurles area from 1988 to 2003.
John was educated at the CBS Thurles, Co. Tipperary and later at the Cistercian College, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. He is a graduate of UCD,( B.A.) where he studied History and Geography. He later went on to study Marketing at the Institute of Ireland. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration with the Institute of Public Administration and a Diploma in Legal studies from the Kings Inn.
The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization whose 56 participating States span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE is the parliamentary dimension of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe.
It is an ad- hoc organization under the United Nations Charter, and amongst the primary work of this 320 member assembly, is the facilitation of inter-parliamentary dialogue, to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the whole OSCE area, particularly on issues such as human rights, arms control, fair elections and freedom of the press. It is also concerned with early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation.
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