The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist,loyalist,British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley,who led the party for the next 37 years. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson,who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as right-wing and socially conservative,being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.
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,situated in Belfast. 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.
Dame Arlene Isobel Foster,Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,,is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who is serving as Chair of Intertrade UK since September 2024. She previously served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and 2020 to 2021 and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. Foster was the first woman to hold either position. She is a Member of the House of Lords,having previously been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2003 to 2021.
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.
Edwin Poots is a British politician from Northern Ireland,serving as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since February 2024. He served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998.
The Northern Ireland Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive,the devolved government of Northern Ireland.
Michelle O'Neill is an Irish politician who has been the First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024 and Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018. She has also been the MLA for Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill was previously deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. O'Neill served on the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 to 2011.
The first minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of Northern Ireland,leading the Northern Ireland Executive and with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the titles of the two offices,the two positions have the same governmental power,resulting in a duumvirate;the deputy first minister,is not subordinate to the first minister. Created under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement,both were initially nominated and appointed by members of the Northern Ireland Assembly on a joint ticket by a cross-community vote,under consociational principles. That process was changed following the 2006 St Andrews Agreement,such that the first minister now is nominated by the largest party overall,and the deputy first minister is nominated by the largest party from the next largest community block.
Paul Jonathan Givan is a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),he has served as Minister of Education since 3 February 2024. Givan has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley since 2010.
The Third Executive was,under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998,a power-sharing coalition.
Mary Emma Little-Pengelly is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician serving as the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since May 2022,when she was co-opted (appointed) to replace then-DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson,who declined to take up his seat following the 2022 election.
The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal,also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal,is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy incentive scheme that has been reported to potentially cost the public purse almost £500 million. The plan,initiated in 2012,was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),the then-Minister for Enterprise,Trade and Investment. Foster failed to introduce proper cost controls,allowing the plan to spiral out of control. The scheme worked by paying applicants to use renewable energy. However,the rate paid was more than the cost of the fuel,and thus many applicants were making profits simply by heating their properties.
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister,Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
There has been a Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) since Sir Ernest Clark was appointed the first holder of that office in 1921. As of 2017 and according to the Executive Office,the Head of the 23,500-people strong NICS "has primary leadership responsibility for creating,developing and sustaining the NICS as an organisation which serves the devolved administration,the institutions of government and the people of Northern Ireland through the provision of high quality,cost effective services." The incumbent is also Permanent Secretary of the Executive Office and Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive,making the office-holder the "most senior adviser to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister".
The Identity and Language Act 2022 is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom providing "official recognition of the status of the Irish language" in Northern Ireland,with Ulster Scots being an officially recognised minority language.
Events from the year 2020 in Northern Ireland.
New Decade,New Approach (NDNA) is a 9 January 2020 agreement which restored the government of the Northern Ireland Executive after a three-year hiatus triggered by the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. It was negotiated by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith and Irish Tánaiste Simon Coveney.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland during 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK:England,Scotland,Northern Ireland,and Wales.
Jenny Pyper is a Northern Ireland civil servant. On 27 November 2020 she was appointed as Interim Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service,taking up the position for eight months from 1 December,and succeeding David Sterling,who stepped down from the role in August 2020. Pyper previously served as Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator.
