For the Privy Council member, see Sir Frederick Paul Girvan (judge)

For similarly named Unionist politician, see Paul Girvan

Paul Girvan

Paul Girvan is a Northern Irish politician. As a member of the Democratic Unionist Party , he was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in 1997, and from 2002-04 served as its mayor...

Paul Jonathan Givan (born 12 October 1981) is a unionist politician in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. He was co-opted in June 2010 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Democratic Unionist Party

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...

 (DUP) member for Lagan Valley

Lagan Valley (Assembly constituency)

Lagan Valley is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....

, replacing the previous MLA, Jeffrey Donaldson

Jeffrey Donaldson

Jeffrey Mark Donaldson, MP is a Northern Irish politician and Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley belonging to the Democratic Unionist Party...

, MP. He was elected to the Assembly at the 2011 election.

Givan was educated at Laurelhill Community College, and is a graduate of 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...

 where he obtained a degree in Business Studies and completed an Advanced Diploma in Management Practice. He was first elected to Lisburn City Council

Lisburn City Council

Lisburn City Council is a district council covering an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. The council is the second largest in the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Council headquarters are in the city of Lisburn, upon which was conferred city status in May 2002 as...

 in 2005, at 23 years of age; he is a creationist

Creationism

Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...

and was responsible for a motion calling for schools in Lisburn to teach alternatives to the theory of evolution

Givan serves on the Board of Governors of Pond Park and Ballymacash Primary Schools and is also a member of the District Police Partnership.