Kilkenny man Phil Hogan is one step closer to landing senior UN position

Phil Hogan has been nominated as Ireland's candidate to be the next Director-General of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The Kilkenny native, a former Fine Gael minister and EU commissioner, had applied to be the nation's candidate to lead the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) earlier this year. 

Hogan has since received the necessary government nomination needed to go forward for the role.

It is understood that he was deemed to be the successful candidate following an internal process involving an interview.

The vote to decide who will ultimately lead the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation is not expected to take place until next year.

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Tullaroan man Hogan was born into a farming family in County Kilkenny and has previously served as the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.

He had been serving as European Commissioner for Trade before resigning in 2020 following the high-profile 'Golfgate' incident which took place during Covid-19 restrictions.

Phil Hogan would be a fantastic man for the job as Director General of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation @fao, bringing a wealth of experience on the topic. Wishing him best of luck in his bid! pic.twitter.com/9bfqDTolwj

— Seán Kelly MEP (@SeanKellyMEP) March 3, 2026

He remains somewhat of an omnipresence in Kilkenny having spent four decades in public service.

It has been five decades since the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had a director-general from a country in Europe.

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Sources have indicated that there is an appetite among member states of the EU to put forward a strong European candidate for the role.

The Director-General is the top leader of FAO, responsible for steering the world’s largest international organisation focused on food, agriculture and hunger eradication.

They are elected by the FAO Conference, which is the organisation’s supreme governing body made up of representatives from all FAO member countries.

A Director-General serves a four-year term but may be re-elected for a second consecutive four-year term, but no more than two consecutive terms are allowed.

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Current Director General Dr Qu Dongyu of China was first elected Director-General of FAO in 2019 and then re-elected in 2023 for a second term. His current term runs until July 31, 2027.

The world headquarters is located in Rome, in the former seat of the Department of Italian East Africa. 

It has been reported that the job commands an approximate annual salary of $265,000.

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