The economy of the United Kingdom is a highly developed social market economy. It is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), and twenty-first by nominal GDP per capita, constituting 3.1% of nominal world GDP. The United Kingdom constitutes 2.3% of world GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP).
The Northern Ireland Assembly, often referred to by the metonym Stormont, is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement. The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the assembly and is an example of consociationalist ("power-sharing") government.
The economy of Europe comprises about 748 million people in 50 countries. The formation of the European Union (EU) and in 1999 the introduction of a unified currency, the Euro, brought participating European countries closer through the convenience of a shared currency. The European Union is a unique global organisation, an entity forming one of the largest economies in the world. The European Union also “regulates” the global market by the single market. The difference in wealth across Europe can be seen roughly in the former Cold War divide, with some countries breaching the divide. Whilst most European states have a GDP per capita higher than the world's average and are very highly developed, some European economies, despite their position over the world's average in the Human Development Index, are relatively poor. Europe has total banking assets of more than $50 trillion and its Global assets under management has more than $20 trillion.
In the United Kingdom, regional development agencies (RDAs) were nine non-departmental public bodies established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of England's Government Office regions between 1998 and 2010. There was one RDA for each of the NUTS level 1 regions of England. Similar activities were carried out in Wales by the Welsh Government Department of Economy and Transport, in Northern Ireland by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
The economy of Northern Ireland is the smallest of the four constituents of the United Kingdom and the smaller of the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. At the time of the Partition of Ireland in 1922, and for a period afterwards, Northern Ireland had a predominantly industrial economy, most notably in shipbuilding, rope manufacture and textiles, but most heavy industry has since been replaced by services. Northern Ireland's economy has strong links to the economies of the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.
The Department for the Economy is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy.
Robert "Robin" Gray Newton MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2003 to 2022, and was a junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister from 2009 to 2011.
Fearghal McKinney is an Irish politician and former journalist. A member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), he sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Belfast from 2013 until his defeat at the 2016 Assembly election. He was deputy leader of the SDLP from 2015 to 2016.
The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL),, was a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Minister for Employment and Learning. The department was initially known as the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment (DHFETE), between 1999 and 2001.
The Department of Education (DENI) is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Education.
The Northern Ireland Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland.
Eugene McMenamin (1947), is a former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician from Northern Ireland, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone from 1998 to 2007.
The economy of Belfast, Northern Ireland was initially built on trade through Belfast Harbour. Later, industry contributed to its growth, particularly shipbuilding and linen. At the beginning of the 20th century Belfast was both the largest producer of linen in the world and also boasted the world's largest shipyard. Civil unrest impacted the city's industry for many years, but with the republican and loyalist ceasefires of the mid-1990s, Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, the city's economy has seen some resurgence once again.
The term Junior Minister, in Northern Ireland, is the name given to two positions in the Executive Office, a department in the Northern Ireland Executive answerable to the First Minister and deputy First Minister.
Invest Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland's regional economic development agency. It is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for the Economy (DfE). According to DETI's website, it "supports business growth and inward investment, promotes innovation, research and development and in-company training, encourages exports and supports local economic development and company start up."
Jonathan Fergus Bell is a former Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Chris Lyttle is an Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 2010 to 2022. He succeeded Naomi Long as Alliance Party MLA for Belfast East on 5 July 2010 and was elected to serve the constituency for another term on 7 May 2011, then again in 2016 and 2017. Lyttle retired at the 2022 Assembly Election.
Kenneth John Nelson BA MBA MSc FCMI CMgr is the chief executive of the social enterprise Local Enterprise Development Company Ltd (LEDCOM), Larne, Northern Ireland. He began his career as a textile technologist. In 2010, he was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion. He has served on the board of governors of Ballymena Academy and on the board of governors of the Northern Regional College. On 15 September 2011 he was one of the experts who provided the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment of the Northern Ireland Assembly with oral briefing on Enterprise NI programmes, Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs) and procurement.
The United Kingdom's post-Brexit relationship with the European Union and its members is governed by the Brexit withdrawal agreement and the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The latter was negotiated in 2020 and has applied since January 2021.
