By Business & Finance 
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 Sutherland Leadership Award at the annual Business & Finance Leadership Awards taking place at the Convention Centre Dublin on Thursday, 11th December.
Secretary Hillary 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.
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.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat, widely regarded as one of the most transformational leaders of her generation. She 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.
Throughout her career, she has championed democracy, women’s rights, healthcare, children’s welfare, and global cooperation, earning a reputation as one of the most transformative political leaders of her generation.
As a testament to this fact, in January 2025, President Biden awarded Secretary Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour, commemorating her six decades of service.
As First Lady, she led national healthcare reform efforts, pushed for insurance coverage expansion, and played a central role in passing initiatives like the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (1997), the Office on Violence Against Women, Adoption and Safe Families Act, and Foster Care Independence Act.
On September 5, 1995, at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, she declared “women’s rights are human rights,” and took on practices like gender-based infanticide head-on.
As Senator, she secured crucial support for 9/11 first responders and continued healthcare advocacy.
As Secretary of State, she strengthened America’s global partnerships and actively promoted democracy and peace. Her work in the role strengthened America’s global partnerships and advanced diplomatic engagement in some of the world’s most complex regions.
In 2020, Secretary Clinton was inaugurated as the first female Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, reflecting her 30‑year commitment to Northern Ireland’s peace and reconciliation process.
Sutherland Leadership Award
The Sutherland Leadership Award was established in 2018 to honour the legacy of Peter Sutherland, a transformative leader in European and global affairs, who served as Ireland’s Attorney General, European Commissioner for Competition, founding Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and UN Special Representative for International Migration.
The award celebrates individuals whose leadership and values reflect Sutherland’s vision of global cooperation, ethical governance, and human dignity. Past recipients include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, ECB President Christine Lagarde, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, José Manuel Barroso, Mario Draghi, Sir Nick Clegg, Henry (Hank) Paulson, and Dame Louise Richardson.
