Mary Robinson (Napoleon's World)

Mary Robinson (born 21 May 1944) is a retired Irish Labour politician who served as President of Ireland from 1991 to 1997, when she surprised the country by declining to seek a second term she likely would have won to focus on humanitarian work, earning her the name "the Lady Cincinnatus." The first woman to hold the office, Robinson was a relative moderate who defeated former Civil Front Taoiseach and left-wing hero Noel Browne in the Labour primary and then went on to defeat incumbent President Albert Reynolds in the 1991 election runoff. Robinson's term enjoyed strong economic growth and the beginning of the "Celtic Consensus," and she forged a strong working relationship with her Labour Taoiseach Dick Spring as well as Bertie Ahern, head of the Christian Democrats and a member of her Cabinet. Robinson's Presidency was viewed as successful and she maintains high popularity ratings within Ireland even two decades after the end of her Presidency.