The new secretary in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs is David Cooney, English-born and a former key player in the Irish government's role in the peace process.

He replaces Dermot Gallagher, who has retired from the position. The secretary of the department is the most important position in Irish Foreign Affairs.

Cooney is currently Irish ambassador to Britain, an extraordinary posting in the sense that he was the first English-born ambassador to serve on behalf of Ireland in that post.

Cooney, who is 54 and married to Geraldine Kelly, is the father of four children. He graduated from the University of Keele in England.

He is seen as close to Taoiseach (Prime Minster) Brian Cowen, with whom he worked closely in the Anglo-Irish division of Foreign Affairs when Cowen was foreign minister. Anglo-Irish handles the Northern Ireland issue and peace process.

That was from 1995-'98 when Cooney was counselor and head of the political section of the Anglo-Irish division, and he participated in the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

He also has American experience, having served as deputy ambassador at the UN in New York for Ireland from 2000 to 2001 and as UN Ambassador from 2005 to 2007.

His selection shows again that the Anglo-Irish division of Foreign Affairs remains the powerhouse in the department. Outgoing secretary Gallagher and several other recent leaders were also chosen from that section.