Emily Logan is the first Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights Commission appointed by President Michael D Higgins on 31 October 2014, following an open competition. For the last decade prior to her appointment, Ms Logan served as Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children, accounting directly to the Oireachtas. Key areas of interest during her tenure included: multi-agency review of child death; own-volition systemic investigation into state compliance with child protection policy; she has progressed the rights of children without parental care, in particular children in care, separated children and children deprived of their liberty; since her first year in Office Ms Logan has championed for an amendment to the Irish Constitution to further enhance the rights of children. In 2008, she was appointed by her peers to the position of President of the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, a network of 40 Ombudsman for Children Offices across Council of Europe member states and remained on the executive until September 2011.

In 2013 she was appointed in a personal capacity by the Minister for Justice to undertake a statutory inquiry into the taking into care of two children from two Roma families by An Garda Síochána.

She has twenty five years management experience in Ireland and the UK. For six years preceding her appointment as Ombudsman for Children, she held two senior positions in public administration: Director of Nursing at Crumlin Children’s Hospital and Director of Nursing at Tallaght Hospital, following her time as Directorate Manager in Great Ormond Street Hospital London.

Ms Logan graduated from Queens University with an LLM in Human Rights Law, University College Dublin with an MBA and Diploma in Mediation, and from City University London with an MSc in Psychology.