US embassy cable - 04DUBLIN1331

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001331 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR ECA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EU, PINR 
SUBJECT: EU/IRELAND: FORMER IRISH PM BRUTON APPOINTED NEXT 
EU AMBASSADOR TO US 
 
 
1.  On September 9, Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and 
current member of the Irish Parliament John Bruton was 
appointed EU Ambassador to the US.  He is the first EU 
ambassador to the US to be chosen since the European 
Commission's decision to give the appointment to a political 
heavyweight in order to gain wider influence in the US. 
Bruton's appointment was seen by all major Irish political 
parties as a positive step by the EU to increase its US 
profile and improve US-EU relations.  Newspapers state 
Bruton's appointment reflects the EU's hope to gain from 
Ireland's experience in building contacts with Members of 
Congress.  Bruton, who favors close ties between the US and 
EU, likely will take up his position in the US in November. 
Biographical information follows: 
 
=============== 
John Bruton Bio 
=============== 
 
2.  John Bruton was first elected to the Dail (Irish 
Parliament) in 1969 at the age of 22 and in 1980 took part in 
the USG's International Visitor (IV) program.  He had a 
successful career as a Fine Gael TD, twice serving as Finance 
Minister in the 1980s.  In 1990 he was elected as the leader 
of Fine Gael, following a disastrous performance by the party 
in the presidential election earlier that year.  Bruton 
reinvigorated the party and was elected Taoiseach in 1994. 
He led a coalition government of Fine Gael, Labour, and a 
small post-communist party called the Democratic Left. 
Observers widely expected Bruton to win the 1997 general 
election, but public anger with Labour caused the loss of 
critical seats and left the coalition short of a majority. 
This paved the way for Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fail to enter 
into government with the Progressive Democrats. 
 
3.  Bruton is a considered a conservative member of Fine 
Gael, and he spent most of the 1980s advocating Thatcherite 
economic steps such as reforming welfare, cutting public 
spending, and encouraging private enterprise.  While these 
views made him unpopular with many voters, his economic 
policies played a key role in creating the "Celtic tiger" 
economy and Ireland enjoyed annual double-digit GDP growth 
during Bruton,s leadership.  Although he identifies himself 
as a conservative Catholic, Bruton,s government was the 
driving force during the 1997 referendum legalizing divorce 
and the 1995 legislation that permitted Irish women to 
receive information on foreign abortion clinics. 
 
4.  Bruton favored a balanced approach to Northern Ireland, 
and won widespread approval from the public for his handling 
of the issue.  He was very critical of the IRA and Sinn Fein, 
and insisted on IRA disarmament before Sinn Fein was admitted 
to any negotiations.  His hardline stance against nationalist 
paramilitaries and well-known sympathies for Ulster loyalists 
led many nationalist leaders to nickname him "Unionist John", 
but he often antagonized the United Kingdom by criticizing 
the behavior of the British Army and the RUC (the former 
police force in Northern Ireland). 
 
5.  Bruton is a well-known Atlanticist who strongly favored 
allowing the United States to use Shannon Airport during the 
1991 Gulf War.  The 2003 Greek Presidency invited him and a 
number of other dignitaries to prepare a paper on improving 
US-European relations.  He is a strong supporter of European 
integration, and played a key role in the creation of the 
euro by negotiating the European Growth and Stability Pact at 
the 1996 Dublin summit.  He also was the Irish Parliament's 
representative at the EU Constitutional Convention and 
reportedly played an important role. 
KENNY