Michelle Gildernew
Encyclopedia
Michelle Gildernew is an Irish republican Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 politician and former Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...

 in the Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...

. Gildernew has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....

 since 2001 and has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly 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...

 (MLA) for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....

 since 25 June 1998.

Gildernew has been a member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) and is the party's spokeswoman on equality and housing and has served on the Equality sub-committee and the Women's Forum. In the 2007-2011 Assembly she served as Vice Chair of the Committee of Social Development and was a member of the Committee of the Centre as well as statutory and ad hoc committees.Gildernews family were leading figures in the civil rights campaign in the 1960s including events in Caledon, county Tyrone in 1968.

Education and Background

Born in Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

, Gildernew attended St Catherine's College Armagh
St Catherine's College Armagh
Saint Catherine's College Armagh is a maintained Catholic all-ability school catering for the 11-18 age group and is associated with the international group of schools served by the Society of the Sacred Heart....

 and later the University of Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...

, Coleraine
Coleraine
Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...

. After graduating from university Michelle travelled extensively in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, where she worked for a year. Michelle is married to Jimmy and is the mother of two boys - Emmet and Eunan, and one girl - Aoise who was born in October 2008. Michelle is one of a family of 10 from a small family farm in county Tyrone.

Early Political Career

On her return in 1996 she was the second placed candidate for Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 in the Forum elections for Fermanagh and South Tyrone but was unsuccessful. In 1997 she was appointed Sinn Féin representative to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. She was elected MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1998 Assembly elections
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998
-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...

 and retained her seat in the 2003
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...

 and 2007 elections
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...

. While in London she was part of the first Sinn Féin delegation to Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...

 in December 1997.

Election to Westminister

Gildernew was elected to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 in the 2001 election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

, defeating the Ulster Unionist
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

 candidate by just 53 votes. In 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

, Gildernew was re-elected with an increased majority of 4,582 votes. In the 2010 election, Gildernew held her seat with the smallest majority, just four votes. The Democratic Unionists
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

, Ulster Conservatives and Unionists
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force
The Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, officially registered as the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force , is a bipartisan electoral alliance in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionist Party and the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party, the latter party also being...

, and Traditional Unionist Voice
Traditional Unionist Voice
Traditional Unionist Voice is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland founded on 7 December 2007, as an anti-St Andrews Agreement splinter group from the Democratic Unionist Party . Its first and current leader is Jim Allister who, until 2009, sat as an independent Member of the European...

 all chose not to stand candidates, giving independent Unionist
Independent Unionist
See also Independent .Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state....

 Rodney Connor
Rodney Connor
Rodney Connor was the Unionist "Unity" candidate for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 2010 Westminster election. He had the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party , and the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force electoral alliance between...

 a free run. Gildernew received 21,304 votes to Connor's 21,300, with the Social Democratic and Labour Party's
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

 vote halved with Fearghal McKinney
Fearghal McKinney
Fearghal McKinney is a journalist and political activist.-Broadcasting career:McKinney was a reporter and relief presenter on UTV Live, joining the station in 1994...

 trailing with 3,574 votes. According to The Times Guide to the House of Commons, she is popular across the sectarian divide in one of Northern Ireland's most polarised constituencies.
Like all Sinn Féin MPs, Gildernew follows a policy of abstentionism
Abstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...

 and does not take her seat in the Westminster Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...


Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

During her time as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Gildernew has dealt with epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...

s such as the outbreak of bluetongue disease
Bluetongue disease
Bluetongue disease or catarrhal fever is a non-contagious, non-zoonotic, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries and antelope...

. She has also increased cross-border co-operation with the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 on farming issues.

Candidate in the 2011 Irish Presidential Election

It was reported in the Belfast Telegraph that she would be a possible candidate in the 2011 Irish Presidential election.

Personal Life

Michelle has a particular interest in the Irish culture. She is a member of Aghaloo GAA club in County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

, enjoys traditional music and is a speaker and supporter of the Irish language. Gildernew has said that she enjoys spending time with her young family and her friends. Gildernew has also stated that she enjoys cooking and partaking in a wide range of outdoor activities.

Michelle is a keen Republican activist and a defender and supporter of women's and mothers' rights.

Offices held

Office Constituency or Legislature
List of Offices held
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament(MP) Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....

Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)
Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)
Member of the Legislative Assembly is a representative elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland.- About :...

Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

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