The President, Mrs Robinson, was selected as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights because the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, believes she has the "fire in the belly" the job requires.
The inelegant phrase, seldom applied to a woman but perhaps no less appropriate for that, was UN spokesman Mr Fred Eckhard's explanation for the appointment that Mrs Robinson will take up in a few days' time, after resigning as Ireland's head of state tomorrow.
A lack of internal combustion in the former High Commissioner, Ecuadoran diplomat Mr Jose Ayala Lasso, was blamed for his markedly lacklustre performance - "Ayala Lasso? Who he?" was a frequent question - and there were few regrets when he resigned in April to return to Quito as foreign minister. Hopes are high among rights advocacy groups and in official circles in New York and Geneva, where Mrs Robinson will be based, that her impending arrival augurs a new, vigorous UN involvement in the issue.
But having said that, the caveat must be added that these positive feelings are not unanimous. Some member-states with skeletons rattling in their cupboards were not at all unhappy with the Ecuadoran. They are bound to be awaiting the newcomer with some trepidation.
This is one reason why some senior UN officials do not foresee an entirely smooth passage as Mrs Robinson enters the international bureaucracy. It is inevitable, they say, that her first months will be difficult, as she tries to find her feet and make the transition from service in the highest office of her nation to having to answer to 185 member-states.
The priority, to which the secretary-general is known to attach high importance, is to confirm and consolidate a truce in the turf war between the High Commissioner's office and the UN Centre for Human Rights.
Some time-serving bureaucrats, more worried about their jobs than the cause they were engaged to promote, did not welcome the new entity and were reluctant to surrender long-standing prerogatives. Now they will have to account to a High Commissioner with a mandate broader than ever, one that accords her the "principal responsibility for the human rights activities of the organisation" and "the tasks of streamlining the human rights machinery throughout the United Nations system".
Eventually, a deputy - to be chosen by her in consultation with the centre - will have charge of that unit, but must still report to Mrs Robinson.
Having lost the top post to a Western European, Latin America would be happy to settle for the deputy's office, which will almost certainly go to a Third World candidate. But Mr Annan's aides say he might prefer an appointee from Africa or Asia, in part because he is eager to encourage greater concern for human rights in both continents.
The perception persists in several Third World nations that the UN approach is skewed to an unreasonable degree towards democratic, western standards of openness and outspokenness. Freedom to dissent may be fine for mature societies, the argument goes, but can lead to serious instability in young, developing states whose governments therefore have a duty to curb their rebellious citizens.
President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya; the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahatir Mohammad; and Indonesia's President Suharto are among leaders who take this line. China, hardly immature but a self-styled developing country despite being home to an extremely strong economy, has long been hostile to the western emphasis on human rights, and will not have welcomed an activist like Mrs Robinson. The Secretary-General and the High Commissioner, as international officials, must pay attention to such attitudes.
Mrs Robinson has been handed a big stick, but wisdom dictates that she speak softly and be careful how she uses it. Officials say that the "fire in the belly" recognised by Mr Annan may have to give way to quieter, conventional diplomacy lest the High Commissioner quickly become a controversial figure - for reasons totally the opposite of those that marked her predecessor's tenure.
Still, she cannot be too quiet or ever turn a blind eye to an egregious offence; that would soon cause negative comment in the rights-conscious West, not least perhaps at home in Dublin.
Will she be tempted to address the rights situation in Northern Ireland? That thought may already be exercising some sections of the British establishment.
Launching the office of High Commissioner, long sought by the United States and others, including Ireland, was an uphill struggle. It was not until 1993 that the log-jam was breached. This was in large part due to efforts by Mr Ayala Lasso, who, though not known for his background in the rights field, chaired, as Ecuador's chief UN delegate, a working group of the General Assembly on the question. His reward, a few months later, was his appointment by Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, secretary-general at the time, to be the first occupant of the new office.
Ms Madeleine Albright, then the US ambassador, was among the first to welcome that decision, remarking on his "key role in the establishment of this vital position" and "commitment to the protection of universal human rights".
But the Washington-based international Human Rights Law Group had a different interpretation, remarking on the nominee's inexperience in the rights field and accusing Dr Ghali of having appointed a man who would need "on-the-job training".
This, the group said, contravened an Assembly resolution calling for a High Commissioner with acknowledged expertise. Human Rights Watch also remembered Mr Ayala Lasso's services to Ecuador's ruling generals, and challenged him to "overcome his past as an official of an abusive military government".
In contrast, the appointment of the motivated and charismatic Mrs Robinson last June by a new Secretary-General with a deep interest in human rights (Dr Ghali was thought ambivalent on the subject) has won the backing of all important advocacy groups.
Certainly, none complains of a lack of expertise. Her extensive experience was detailed in an admiring UN press release emphasising her "outstanding legal qualifications", knowledge of human rights law, "numerous international activities relating to human rights" and impressive humanitarian background - mentioning in particular her visits (the first by a head of state and at some personal risk) to Rwanda after the genocide attempts there.
With Mrs Robinson standing alongside, Mr Annan pre-empted any possibility of public criticism from the Third World, which had hoped up to the 11th hour to retain the office for one of its own. In an enthusiastic statement to reporters, he said: "We are excited to have her on board. We think she is going to be a wonderful addition to the team. I was going to use the word `superstar', but I didn't want to embarrass her."
In politics and diplomacy, fame can be fleeting and there is never a shortage of back-biters. One question already being asked is whether this Irish "superstar" has the administrative know-how necessary to run a major department in a cash-starved organisation obsessed with reform and fulfil an expanded mandate to streamline the human rights machinery throughout the system.
Mr Eckhard, the UN spokesman, dismisses any reservation on this score. Noting that the Secretary-General is himself a skilled administrator who knows one when he sees one, he says Mr Annan would never have endorsed the Government's nomination of Mrs Robinson and rejected other candidates unless he believed in her ability to undertake what he regards as one of the most important assignments in the UN system, with responsibilities that can only increase.
Little more than a year ago, it should be recalled, she was being mentioned seriously as a possible contender for Secretary-General. "Gender over geography" was one argument in her favour, and some still believe that somewhere down the road it could still happen.
As the world body's role diminishes in formal peacekeeping for several reasons (including US congressional opposition and the cost of military operations), officials say UN involvement in human rights questions, including monitoring elections and a wide range of even more ambitious responsibilities that at present can only be imagined, seems likely to move towards centre stage, with Washington's encouragement.
In sum, the new High Commissioner, as the under-secretary-general in charge - Mr Annan's former role in the department of peacekeeping - confronts a daunting task. No one in New York doubts Mrs Robinson is up to it.
Michael Littlejohns, the former UN bureau chief for Reuter, contributes UN news articles and commentary to several publications and is the television host of a public affairs programme widely broadcast in the US and the Caribbean
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