Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Encyclopedia
The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly (originally having the title of Presiding Officer) is the presiding officer
of the Northern Ireland Assembly
, elected on a cross-community vote by the Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
. A Principal Deputy Speaker and two Deputy Speakers are elected to help fulfil the role.
The Office of the Speaker is located in Parliament Buildings
, Stormont
, Belfast
. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Assembly Commission
, the body corporate of the Assembly, and the Chairman of the Assembly Business Committee.
, appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
in 1998. Prior to devolution in December 1999 the position was referred to as the Initial Presiding Officer. Alderdice left office in 2004.
Eileen Bell
held the office of Speaker in the Assembly established under the Northern Ireland Act 2006
which met between May and October 2006 and in the Transitional Assembly established under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006
which met between November 2006 and May 2007. Under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 she was appointed Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007.
One of the first items of business for the Northern Ireland Assembly
on 8 May 2007 was to elect a new Speaker from the MLAs
elected in March 2007. The only nominee was William Hay, DUP
member for Foyle
and he was elected unopposed.
In May 2011 the new position of Principal Deputy Speaker was created. Sinn Féin deputy speaker Francie Molloy
was subsequently elected to the new position in June 2011.
) who is not seeking the appointment oversees the election as Acting Speaker. Nominees are then put forward, seconded and accepted by the nominee. A vote is then taken which must achieve the support of both sides of the house (cross-community support
). A successful nominee is then deemed elected as Speaker and takes the chair. Upon election the Speaker must relinquish all party political affiliations. The newly or re-elected speaker then oversees the selection of three Deputy Speakers.
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
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...
, elected on a cross-community vote by the Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
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 :...
. A Principal Deputy Speaker and two Deputy Speakers are elected to help fulfil the role.
The Office of the Speaker is located in Parliament Buildings
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
, Stormont
Stormont Estate
The Stormont Estate is an estate east of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballymiscaw. The Stormont Estate includes Northern Ireland's main government buildings, which are surrounded mainly by woodland....
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Assembly Commission
Northern Ireland Assembly Commission
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission is the corporate body of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The commission is headed by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, currently William Hay MLA....
, the body corporate of the Assembly, and the Chairman of the Assembly Business Committee.
History
The first person to hold the position was Lord AlderdiceJohn Alderdice, Baron Alderdice
John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice is a Northern Ireland politician. He was Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004, leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 1987-1998, and since 1996 sits in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat.-Personal life:Alderdice was born to the...
, appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
in 1998. Prior to devolution in December 1999 the position was referred to as the Initial Presiding Officer. Alderdice left office in 2004.
Eileen Bell
Eileen Bell
Eileen Bell CBE is a Northern Ireland politician, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down and former deputy leader of the Alliance Party.-Early life:...
held the office of Speaker in the Assembly established under the Northern Ireland Act 2006
Northern Ireland Act 2006
The Northern Ireland Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made provision in connection with the Northern Ireland Assembly.-External links:*, as amended from the National Archives....
which met between May and October 2006 and in the Transitional Assembly established under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006
St Andrews Agreement
The St Andrews Agreement was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in relation to the devolution of power to Northern Ireland...
which met between November 2006 and May 2007. Under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 she was appointed Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007.
One of the first items of business for 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...
on 8 May 2007 was to elect a new Speaker from the MLAs
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 :...
elected in March 2007. The only nominee was William Hay, DUP
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...
member for Foyle
Foyle (Assembly constituency)
Foyle 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....
and he was elected unopposed.
In May 2011 the new position of Principal Deputy Speaker was created. Sinn Féin deputy speaker Francie Molloy
Francie Molloy
Francie Molloy MLA is a Sinn Féin politician and a deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections finishing as runner-up 542 votes behind the DUP candidate with over 1400 SDLP votes non-transferable...
was subsequently elected to the new position in June 2011.
Election
During the first meeting of a new Assembly a Speaker is elected. The oldest (by age) Member of the Assembly (see Father of the HouseFather of the House
Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...
) who is not seeking the appointment oversees the election as Acting Speaker. Nominees are then put forward, seconded and accepted by the nominee. A vote is then taken which must achieve the support of both sides of the house (cross-community support
Cross-community vote
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Belfast Agreement. It requires the support of both communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists and the majority of...
). A successful nominee is then deemed elected as Speaker and takes the chair. Upon election the Speaker must relinquish all party political affiliations. The newly or re-elected speaker then oversees the selection of three Deputy Speakers.
Speakers
| Speaker | Party on taking office | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Alderdice John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice is a Northern Ireland politician. He was Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004, leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 1987-1998, and since 1996 sits in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat.-Personal life:Alderdice was born to the... |
Alliance Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons.... |
1 July 1998 | 29 February 2004 | |
| (position vacant) | 1 March 2004 | 7 May 2007 | ||
| Eileen Bell Eileen Bell Eileen Bell CBE is a Northern Ireland politician, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down and former deputy leader of the Alliance Party.-Early life:... |
Alliance Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons.... |
8 May 2007 | 8 May 2007 | |
| William Hay | Democratic Unionist 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... |
8 May 2007 |
Principal Deputy Speaker
| Principal Deputy Speaker | Party | Speaker | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francie Molloy Francie Molloy Francie Molloy MLA is a Sinn Féin politician and a deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections finishing as runner-up 542 votes behind the DUP candidate with over 1400 SDLP votes non-transferable... |
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... |
Hay | 28 June 2011 |
Deputy Speakers
| Deputy Speaker | Party | Speaker | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir John Gorman John Gorman (politician) Sir John Reginald Gorman, CVO, CBE, MC, DL, was between 1998 and 2003 an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Down, and one of the tiny number of Roman Catholics to be elected as a Unionist representative in Northern Ireland.-Early life:Born in Omagh, County Tyrone in 1923 and educated at Rockport... |
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... |
Alderdice | 31 January 2000 | 19 February 2002 | |
| Donovan McClelland Donovan McClelland Donovan McClelland is a Protestant member of the mostly Catholic Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.... |
SDLP 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... |
Alderdice | 31 January 2000 | 7 May 2007 | |
| Jane Morrice Jane Morrice Jane Morrice is a former politician in Northern Ireland. She was a prominent member of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition until the NIWC ceased to exist in 2006 due to an ongoing electoral decline... |
Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Northern Ireland Women's Coalition The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition was a minor political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1996 by Catholic academic Monica McWilliams and Protestant social worker Pearl Sagar to contest the elections to the Northern Ireland Forum, the body for all-party talks which led to the... |
Alderdice | 31 January 2000 | 7 May 2007 | |
| Jim Wilson Jim Wilson (UK politician) Jim Wilson is a Northern Irish politician.Born in County Antrim, Wilson attended Belfast College of Technology before becoming a marine engineer. He was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in 1975 for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and joined the Ulster Unionist Party the following... |
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... |
Alderdice | 25 February 2002 | 7 May 2007 | |
| Francie Molloy Francie Molloy Francie Molloy MLA is a Sinn Féin politician and a deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections finishing as runner-up 542 votes behind the DUP candidate with over 1400 SDLP votes non-transferable... |
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... |
Hay | 8 May 2007 | 28 June 2011 | |
| David McClarty David McClarty Councillor David McClarty, MLA is an Independent Unionist politician from Northern Ireland.He is from Coleraine and was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution and Magee College... |
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... |
Hay | 8 May 2007 | 11 May 2011 | |
| John Dallat John Dallat John Dallat is an Irish politician.He attended Coleraine College of Further Education, the North West College of Further and Higher Education, the University of Ulster and University College, Galway before becoming a teacher of business studies.Dallat joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party... |
SDLP 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... |
Hay | 8 May 2007 | ||
| Roy Beggs Jr | 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... |
Hay | 12 May 2011 |
See also
- Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for WalesPresiding Officer of the National Assembly for WalesThe Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings ; to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the...
- Presiding Officer of the Scottish ParliamentPresiding Officer of the Scottish ParliamentThe Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament is the speaker of the Scottish Parliament, elected by the Members of the Scottish Parliament, by means of an exhaustive ballot. He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the Scottish Parliament and as such is viewed as a figurehead for the entire...
- Speaker of the British House of Commons
- Lord SpeakerLord SpeakerThe Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.Until July 2006, the role of...
- Ceann ComhairleCeann ComhairleThe Ceann Comhairle is the chairman of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the Dáil from among their number in the first session after each general election...