John Bruton was Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. In the 1980’s, he served as Minister for Finance (twice), Minister for Industry and Energy, and as Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism. From 2002 to 2003, he was a member of the presidency of the Convention on the Future of Europe, which did the bulk of the drafting work of the Lisbon Treaty, which currently governs the operations of the European Union.

From 2004 to 2009, he was EU Ambassador to the United States. He is also a member of the board of the Centre for European Policy Studies, of Cooperation Ireland and of the Club de Madrid.