On this day in ...... 2008, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Patricia O’Brien Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel. O'Brien (left) is the 1st woman U.N. history to hold this position. During the previous 5 years she'd been serving as Legal Adviser to the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, giving counsel on legal issues arising in Irish foreign policy, in particular public international law, human rights law and European Union law. Before that she'd been a Senior Legal Adviser to the Irish Attorney General and Legal Counsellor at the Irish Permanent Representation to the European Union, in Brussels. Born in 1957, O'Brien earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Trinity College in Dublin and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa in Canada. She'd practiced law in Ireland and Canada, and also held academic positions at the University of British Columbia. (photo credit)
... 1962, the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica became an independent state and adopted its own Constitution. The onetime British colony remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
... 1962, the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica became an independent state and adopted its own Constitution. The onetime British colony remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
