By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, widely regarded as one of the most transformational leaders of her generation, has a special relationship with Ireland which will culminate in her acceptance of the Sutherland Leadership Award in December 2025.
Secretary Clinton was the 67th U.S. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and First Lady of the United States from January 1993 to January 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman to win a presidential nomination from a major U.S. party in 2016, and remains the only woman to have won the popular vote. She is the only First Lady ever to run for – and hold – elected office.
Secretary Clinton will travel to Dublin to accept the Sutherland Leadership Award at a Gala Dinner attended by over 1,000 international business, political, and social leaders on 11th December, 2025.
This upcoming trip to Ireland will be the latest in a long line of visits to the country dating back to the 1990s when she first visited with her husband, President Clinton.
Northern Ireland
President Bill Clinton became the first serving US President to ever visit Northern Ireland in 1995. During that visit, the first of three trips that he would make during his presidency, both he and Secretary Clinton called for an end to the Troubles.
By 2008, Northern Ireland had hosted eight Clinton visits but there were more to come for Secretary Clinton, both with her husband and solo. Shortly after becoming the US Secretary of State in 2009 she officially reopened the refurbished Belfast City Hall and in 2012, on another solo trip, Secretary Clinton condemned the continuing violence in the region.
In 2018 and 2023, the Clintons were to return to mark the 20th and 25th anniversaries of the Good Friday Agreement.
In 2002, Secretary Clinton was in Dublin as part of a trade mission to encourage further links between Ireland and the U.S. It was her first visit to Ireland since becoming a U.S. Senator. She was accompanied by 30 US business people and met with then President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. During the visit, she thanked the Irish people for their support after the September 11th attacks.
Washington Ireland Programme
Secretary Clinton has consistently demonstrated her support for Ireland by regularly taking on Irish interns as part of the Washington Ireland programme, inspiring a new generation. This unique relationship began in 1998 when she invited Irish interns to work in the White House and, over the next two years, five candidates would get the opportunity to work for the Clinton administration.
Carol Wheeler, the founder of WIP, said, “A White House internship is a prize and typically out of reach for anyone who’s not a US citizen. We were amazed, and absolutely delighted, when we were able to give WIP students the opportunity of working both in the First Lady’s office and in the office of the Cabinet Secretary. It was yet another indication of the administration’s commitment to the peace process – and to Hillary’s personal investment in helping in any way she could.”
Queen’s University Belfast
In 2018, Secretary Clinton received an honorary degree from Queen’s University and was officially installed as the University’s 11th and first female chancellor in 2021. Speaking at the ceremony, she spoke about the importance of discussing and learning from people unlike ourselves:
“Northern Ireland has become a symbol of democracy’s power to transcend divisions and deliver peace, and we need that beacon of hope now more than ever. But with hope comes responsibilities, the responsibility to be a citizen, to be willing to discuss and learn from people unlike yourselves. To debate and compromise in search of common ground to participate in our shared institutions, to respect the rights, dignity and needs of all people, and to uphold the rule of law.”
The Sutherland Leadership Award
Established in 2018, with the support of the Sutherland family, the Sutherland Leadership Award recognises outstanding international leaders who embody the values of Peter Sutherland, a transformative leader in European and global affairs.
Past recipients include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, ECB President Christine Lagarde, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Henry (Hank) Paulson, Dame Louise Richardson, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
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