The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist,loyalist,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. Currently led by Jeffrey Donaldson,it is the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and is the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 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.
The 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday,26 November 2003,after being suspended for just over a year. It was the second election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. Each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary constituencies elected six members by single transferable vote,giving a total of 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The election was contested by 18 parties and many independent candidates.
Naomi Rachel Long MLA is a Northern Irish politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive 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.
Samuel Wilson is a Northern Irish politician,serving as Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Commons since 2019. Wilson has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 1998 to 2003 and for East Antrim from 2003 until 2015. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1986 to 1987 and again from 2000 to 2001,the first person from the DUP to hold the office. He has also served as Minister of Finance and Personnel and Minister of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Arlene Isobel Foster,Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,,is a British broadcaster and former politician from Northern Ireland who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2021 and as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold either position. Foster 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.
Maurice George Morrow,Baron Morrow is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who has been Chairman of the DUP since 2000. He was made a life peer in June 2006. He was also a councillor on Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council representing Dungannon Town.
Edwin Poots is a British politician in Northern Ireland who 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. Poots is the DUP's Spokesperson for Institutional Reform and Hard to Reach Communities.
William Alexander Hay,Baron Hay of Ballyore,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 1998 to 2014.
Alderman George Ennis is a former Northern Irish Unionist politician who was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2003 to 2007.
Alex Easton MLA is an Independent Unionist politician from Northern Ireland who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down since 2003. A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),Easton left the party in July 2021,following disagreements over the party's leadership. He was educated at Gransha Boys High School and Bangor Technical College. He worked in the accident and emergency department in the Newtownards and then the Ulster Hospital as a clerical officer. He is a member of the Orange Order and the Church of Ireland. He served on the North Down Policing Partnership.
William Irwin MLA is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a DUP member for Newry and Armagh,and was re-elected in 2011,2016,2017 and 2022. Irwin is the DUP's Spokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Trevor Clarke MLA is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Clarke is the DUP's Spokesperson for Policing.
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".
Paula Bradley is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland,who served as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May 2021 to June 2023. She was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 2011 to 2022. She also served as Deputy Mayor of Newtownabbey Borough Council in 2009–10. She was elected Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on 14 May 2021,and became the first woman to hold the office on 28 May 2021.
Alderman Maurice Devenney is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2014 to 2015. Devenney succeeded retiring party member William Hay. He resigned in April 2015 to concentrate on his council work.
The 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday,2 March 2017. The election was held to elect members (MLAs) following the resignation of deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. McGuinness' position was not filled,and thus by law his resignation triggered an election.
Gary Middleton is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Foyle since 2015. Middleton is the DUP Spokesperson for the North West.
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 (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The May 2021 Democratic Unionist Party leadership election was triggered by Arlene Foster's resignation from leadership. It was the Democratic Unionist Party's first leadership election since the party's founding in 1971.
