Executive of the 6th Northern Ireland Assembly

The Executive of the 6th Northern Ireland Assembly was appointed on 11 January 2020, after the confirmation of Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill as First and deputy First Minister.

Executive of the 6th Northern Ireland Assembly
5th Executive of Northern Ireland
January 2020 – February 2022
First Ministers Foster and Givan; deputy First Minister O'Neill
Date formed11 January 2020
Date dissolved4 February 2022
People and organisations
Head of stateElizabeth II
Co-heads of governmentArlene Foster; Paul Givan (First Ministers)
Michelle O'Neill (deputy First Minister)
No. of ministers10 (+ 2 junior ministers)
Member partyDUP
Sinn Féin
SDLP
UUP
Alliance
Status in legislaturePower–sharing coalition
85 / 90 (94%)
History
Election2017 assembly election
Legislature term6th Assembly
PredecessorExecutive of the 5th Assembly
SuccessorExecutive of the 7th Assembly

Following the 2 March 2017 elections to the sixth Northern Ireland Assembly, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin remained the two largest parties in the Assembly. Parties in Northern Ireland that were eligible to join the Northern Ireland Executive were given a deadline of 27 March 2017 to form an Executive. The deadline passed and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire passed an emergency law at Westminster to allow more time for talks to take place. Brokenshire threatened direct rule if no agreement was reached by early May 2017. This deadline was later extended to 29 June after Prime Minister, Theresa May's decision to call a snap general election for 8 June 2017.

On 29 June 2017, the DUP and Sinn Féin had both announced that they had not come to an agreement to form the next Northern Ireland Executive. Brokenshire extended the deadline until 3 July 2017 for further talks to continue. Abortive talks continued intermittently through 2017, 2018 and 2019 but were overshadowed by the UK Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and the DUP role in supporting the minority British Government. Intensive talks resumed in December 2019 following the 2019 UK General Election with a new deadline of 13 January 2020 for fresh assembly elections set by Secretary of State Julian Smith. An agreement was published by the two governments on 9 January 2020 and it was accepted by the leading parties.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland returned to the Executive, having been absent since 2016; Alliance's Naomi Long obtained the cross-community vote to become Minister for Justice.[1]

The 2024 Northern Ireland Executive Formation will restore power-sharing at Stormont.[2]

5th Executive of Northern Ireland

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Northern Ireland Executive
Portfolio Minister Party Term
Executive Ministers
First Minister Arlene Foster DUP 2020–2021
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin 2020–2021
Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Edwin Poots DUP 2020–2022
Communities Deirdre Hargey Sinn Féin 2020–2022
Economy Diane Dodds DUP 2020–2021
Education Peter Weir DUP 2020–2021
Finance Conor Murphy Sinn Féin 2020–2022
Health Robin Swann UUP 2020–2022
Infrastructure Nichola Mallon SDLP 2020–2022
Justice Naomi Long Alliance 2020–2022
Also attending Executive meetings
Junior Minister (assisting the First Minister) Gordon Lyons DUP 2020–2021
Junior Minister (assisting the deputy First Minister) Declan Kearney Sinn Féin 2020–2022

Changes 14 June 2021

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Office Name Party Term
Economy Paul Frew DUP 2021
Education Michelle McIlveen DUP 2021–2022

Changes 17 June 2021

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Office Name Party Term
First Minister Paul Givan DUP 2021–2022
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin 2021–2022
Junior Minister (assisting the First Minister) Gary Middleton DUP 2021–2022

Changes 6 July 2021

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Office Name Party Term
Economy Gordon Lyons DUP 2021–2022

Changes 3 February 2022

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Office Name Party Term
First Minister Vacant 2022
Deputy First Minister Vacant 2022

Changes 16 May 2022

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Office Name Party Term
Infrastructure John O'Dowd Sinn Féin 2022


See also

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References

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  1. ^ McDonald, Henry (11 January 2020). "Northern Ireland assembly reopens three years after collapse". The Guardian.
  2. ^ "Northern Ireland's deadlock loosens as DUP signals readiness to return to Stormont". IrishCentral.com. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.