Joanne Bunting | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast East | |
Assumed office May 2016 | |
Preceded by | Peter Robinson |
Mayor of Castlereagh | |
In office 2004–2005 | |
Member of Castlereagh Borough Council | |
In office 2000–2011 | |
Preceded by | John Dunn |
Succeeded by | Denny Vitty |
Constituency | Castlereagh Central |
Personal details | |
Born | Belfast,Northern Ireland | June 7,1974
Nationality | British |
Political party | Democratic Unionist Party |
Joanne Bunting (born 7 June 1974) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East since 2016. [1] Bunting is the DUP's Spokesperson for Justice. [2]
Bunting was educated at Braniel Primary School and Grosvenor High School. As an elected representative,she served as a Councillor in Castlereagh for 11 years,from 2000 to 2011,and as Mayor in 2004/05.
For 18 years she worked at the Northern Ireland Assembly. In 2016,Bunting was elected on the first count to the Northern Ireland Assembly,as one of three DUP MLAs.
Bunting is a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board,and serves on the Committee on Standards and Privileges,the Assembly All Party Group on Epilepsy,and the Assembly All Party Group on Tourism.
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 described as centre-right to 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.
Peter David Robinson is a retired Northern Irish politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2008 until 2016 and Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2008 until 2015. Until his retirement in 2016,Robinson was involved in Northern Irish politics for over 40 years,being a founding member of the DUP along with Ian Paisley.
Naomi Rachel Long MLA is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024,having previously served from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party since 2016 and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East since 2020.
Arlene Isobel Foster,Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,,is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who 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.
Wallace Hamilton Browne,Baron Browne of Belmont,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2006,and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2007 to 2011.
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.
Thomas Buchanan is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone since 2003. Buchanan is the DUP Spokesperson for Victims Rights and Groups Liaison. He is also one of the DUP's members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Diane Jean Dodds,Baroness Dodds of Duncairn,,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Northern Ireland constituency from 2009 to 2020. She previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2003 to 2007 as MLA for West Belfast. In 2020,Dodds returned to the Assembly as MLA for Upper Bann and is the DUP's Spokesperson for Education and Skills. She is married to Lord Dodds,and as such she is styled as "The Right Honourable The Lady Dodds of Duncairn".
William Alexander Hay,Baron Hay of Ballyore,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a life peer in the House of Lords since 2014.
Alexander Easton is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down since 2024. He previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2003 to 2024.
Fred Cobain,MBE is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland,serving as a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA since 2019. He was previously an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 until 2011.
Michelle McIlveen MLA is a Northern Irish unionist politician,serving as General Secretary of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since 2008. she is the party's Spokesperson for Environment,Climate and Fisheries. She served as Minister for Education from June 2021 to October 2022,and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strangford since 2007.
Alastair Ross is a British electoral officer and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 2007 to 2017.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties,the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. A founding precept of the party is that "nothing which is morally wrong can be politically right".
Claire Sugden is a Northern Irish politician who was the Minister of Justice in the fourth Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to March 2017. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry,having been co-opted to the position after the death of David McClarty in 2014,and won election to the seat in 2016,2017 and 2022. She is an Independent Unionist,and is considered to be one of the most socially liberal unionist MLAs in the Assembly.
Claire Aisling Hanna is an Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South and Mid Down since 2019. A member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP),she previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 2015 until her election to parliament.
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 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.
Patricia O'Lynn is a Northern Irish academic,educator,and politician who was an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 2022 to 2023. She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Antrim.