United States Special Envoy For Northern Ireland - Later Envoys

Later Envoys

The United States has continued to support the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and has demonstrated its readiness to assist the process in any way. President Bush announced on 10 June 2003 his intention to designate Ambassador Richard N. Haass as the Special Envoy. Haass was an active Envoy. In 2001, within a week of the Al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington, Mr Haass warned Irish Republicans that the suspected links between the IRA and Colombian terrorist groups could have "potentially serious consequences for the role of the United States in the peace process". Later, Mr Haass attacked then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble for setting a deadline for pulling out of power-sharing, accusing him of adding to a sense of crisis.

Later, Mitchell Reiss was appointed as the Special Envoy. At the invitation of the British and Irish governments, Special Envoy Reiss participated in the peace process negotiations that took plac at Leeds Castle in 2004. On 15 February 2007, Paula Dobriansky, the U.S. Undersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the State Department, was designaged the U.S. Envoy to Northern Ireland. The transition from the former Special Envoy, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, took place on February 15, 2007. In February 2008, Special Envoy Dobriansky led a trade mission to Belfast.

Each of the Special Envoys has periodically reported to U.S. Congressional Committees on their activities and the status of the Northern Ireland peace process and other matters concerning Northern Ireland.