Gerard Quinn is a professor of law at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and at the Wallenberg Institute in the

University of Lund Lund University () is a public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially founded in 1666 on the ...

, Sweden. He was formerly professor of law at

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, Ireland, and Director of the university's Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the School of Law. He was appointed to the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

in 2012.

Life

Quinn was a graduate of University College, Galway and he was called to the Irish Bar in 1983. He was awarded a masters (LLM) and doctorate in law (SJD) from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He is an authority on comparative disability law and policy. In October, 2020, Quinn was appointed by the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

as the second UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He succeeded the founding rapporteur Catalina Devandas Aguilar of Costa Rica. Following Quinn's appointment, his ideas on the importance of disability law and policy have been disseminated by

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

, the

European Network on Independent Living European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

. He was succeeded as rapporteur by the Egyptian parliamentarian Heba Hagrass.

References

External links

Website of the President of Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Gerard Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Academics of the University of Galway Alumni of the University of Galway Harvard Law School alumni United Nations special rapporteurs