Fine Gael's general-secretary, Mr Jim Miley, has left his job to become chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Congratulating Mr Miley on his appointment, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said he was leaving the party "in excellent shape to face the future with confidence".
A former journalist, Mr Miley fills the vacancy created by the death of Mr Noel Carroll last year.
He has spend the past 3 1/2 years as general-secretary of Fine Gael, leading a reorganisation of party headquarters. Commending him for his contribution to the party, Mr Bruton said he had played a major role in the success of Mr Simon Coveney in the Cork South Central by-election.
Meanwhile, with two weeks to go before the merger of his party with Labour, the Democratic Left general-secretary, Mr John Gallagher, is to quit his post to join the communications firm Fleishman-Hillard Saunders next month.
Mr Gallagher was a member of the negotiating team that reached agreement with Labour on the union of the two parties and, in a curious twist, is to become a senior member of the firm's public affairs team, which is led by Mr Michael Parker, a former general-secretary of the Progressive Democrats.