Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former Fine Gael politician. Manning was a member of the Oireachtas for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad.[1] On 12 March 2009 he was elected Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, while remaining President of the Human Rights Commission. From 2002 to 2014, he was President of the Irish Human Rights Commission.
After his 1987 defeat he was elected to the 18th Seanad, again on the Cultural and Educational Panel, and was re-elected three more times until he did not contest the 2002 election to the 22nd Seanad, when Fine Gael chose not to nominate him. [citation needed] After the 2002 general election Manning had initially announced his intention to stand down, but when Enda Kenny was elected as party leader, he stayed on. However following the loss of 20 Dáil seats in 2002, the party's nominating committee chose to prioritise candidates who could challenge for Dáil seats at the next election, and he was not nominated. It was reported that this may have been related to a dispute with the Fine Gael Chairman, Senator Pádraic McCormack, whom Manning had threatened to challenge for the chairmanship.[8]
In the early 1980s Manning was a member of the New Ireland Forum and later of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. He served as Leader of the Seanad from 1995 to 1997,[1] and as Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad from 1997 to 2002.