Pádraig Murphy is a former Irish diplomat. Murphy was born in Cork. He received a BA from UCC and an MA from Sheffield University. In the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade he served as Ambassador to the USSR and Finland (1981-85), as Political Director of the department, (1985-91), Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1991-98), to Spain (1998-2001) and to Japan (2001-2005). He retired in 2005. In 2012 he served as the OSCE Chairmanship's Special Representative for the South Caucasus. Murphy chairs the Foreign Policy Group of the IIEA and is a member of its Germany Group.