Senator David Norris is an Irish scholar, independent Senator, and gay and civil rights activist. Born in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, David Norris is a former Trinity College lecturer and member of the Oireachtas. He has served in Seanad Éireann since 1987 and is the first openly gay person to be elected to a public office in Ireland. He is an expert on James Joyce and is associated with the James Joyce Cultural Centre, Dublin and the Irish Georgian Society. David Norris campaigned to overthrow the anti-homosexuality laws in Ireland and ran for the President of Ireland in October 2011.