Brief Summary, Northern Ireland Assembly Origins of the Northern Ireland Assembly (The Belfast Agreement, also known as the "Good Friday" Agreement) The Northern Ireland Assembly was established as a result of the Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998. The Agreement was the outcome of a long process of talks between the Northern Ireland political parties and the British and Irish Governments. The Agreement was endorsed through a referendum held on 22 May 1998 and subsequently given legal force through the Northern Ireland Act 1998 . It led to the creation of a series of interrelated bodies, in particular the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has full legislative and executive authority for all matters that are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Government Departments and are known as transferred matters . Excepted matters remain the responsibility of the Westminster Parliament. Reserved matters are also dealt with by Westminster unless it is decided by the Secretary of State that some of these should be devolved to the Assembly. Excepted and reserved matters are defined in the Schedules to the NI Act.

The Belfast Agreement also led to the establishment of: A North/South Ministerial Council to bring together those with executive responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the Irish Governments to develop consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland. All Council decisions must be agreed by the two sides. A British-Irish Council to exchange information, discuss, consult and use best endeavours to reach agreement on co-operation on matters of mutual interest within the competence of the relevant Administrations. Membership comprises representatives of the British and Irish Governments, devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales together with representatives of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. A British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference comprising senior representatives from both Governments to promote bilateral co-operation at all levels on matters of mutual interest. A consultative Civic Forum, comprising representatives of business, trades unions and other civic sectors in Northern Ireland to act as a consultative mechanism on social, economic and cultural issues. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister acting together nominate Ministers to attend the North/South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council and to report to the Assembly following each meeting of these bodies. They also ensure that the Executive is represented at meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

The First Minister and Deputy First Minister, acting together, also make arrangements for the operation of the Civic Forum. These arrangements require Assembly approval. The Northern Ireland Assembly The Assembly was elected on 25 June 1998 under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998 . It was called the New Northern Ireland Assembly to distinguish it from the Northern Ireland Assembly for which legislative provision remained at that time under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. The Northern Ireland Act 1998 stated that the Assembly would be known as the "New Northern Ireland Assembly" in the pre-devolution or "shadow" period and that at the date of devolution it would be called the "Northern Ireland Assembly". The New Northern Ireland Assembly met for the first time on 1 July 1998 in Castle Buildings on the Stormont Estate. The then Secretary of State the Rt Hon Dr Marjorie Mowlam MP appointed Lord Alderdice as Initial Presiding Officer for the first sitting of the Assembly with the intention that the Assembly would then elect a Presiding Officer.

In the event, no election for a Presiding Officer was held and on the date of devolution, as provided for in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, Lord Alderdice, as the incumbent, was confirmed in office. The Standing Orders of the Assembly, which took effect from the date of devolution, provided for the Presiding Officer to be addressed as "Speaker". At the first meeting of the Assembly, the Rt Hon David Trimble MP was elected as First Minister (Designate) and Mr Seamus Mallon MP as Deputy First Minister (Designate). The refurbishment of the Assembly Chamber in Parliament Buildings was completed during the summer months, and since the second sitting on 14 September 1998 the Assembly has met in that Chamber. How The Northern Ireland Assembly Operates The Northern Ireland Assembly consists of 108 elected Members - six from each of the 18 Westminster constituencies. Its role is primarily to scrutinise and make decisions on the issues dealt with by Government Departments and to consider and make legislation. A First Minister and a Deputy First Minister are elected to lead the Executive Committee of Ministers.

They must stand for election jointly and to be elected they must have cross-community support by the parallel consent formula, which means that a majority of both the Members who have designated themselves Nationalists and those who have designated themselves Unionists and a majority of the whole Assembly, must vote in favour. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister head the Executive Committee of Ministers and acting jointly, determine the total number of Ministers in the Executive. The parties elected to the Assembly choose Ministerial portfolios and select Ministers in proportion to their party strength. Each party has a designated nominating officer and the d'Hondt procedure is used for the appointment of Ministers. Statutory Departmental Committees are also established to advise and assist each Minister in the formulation of policy for his/her Department and to scrutinise the work of that Department. Committee Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons are elected using the d'Hondt procedure . Committee membership is filled based on party strengths in accordance with Standing Order 47 . There is also a number Standing and Ad Hoc Committees. For details of committee membership and work, please follow this link . The Speaker The Office of the Presiding Officer of the Assembly, known as "the Speaker", is held by Mr William Hay MLA.

The Speaker presides over the proceedings of the Assembly, is Chairperson of the Business Committee and Chairperson of the Assembly Commission. The Speaker has a scrutiny role in relation to the competence of legislation prior to the First and Final Stages of a Bill. He selects amendments to Bills and Motions for debate and selects questions for oral answer. Following the first reading of a Bill the Speaker sends a copy to the Human Rights Commission and on the completion of all the Stages of a Bill he sends it to the Secretary of State requesting Royal Assent. The Speaker receives VIP visitors from the British Isles and overseas to Parliament Buildings, including Heads of State, Ambassadors and senior politicians. The Speaker also hosts and attends a range of events designed to promote an understanding of the Assembly as an institution and to develop links with the wider Northern Ireland community as well as within the UK and internationally. Standing Orders require the Assembly to elect three Deputy Speakers, currently Mr John Dallat MLA, Mr David McClarty MLA and Mr Francie Molloy MLA. The Assembly Commission and the Business Committee The Assembly Commission , which is the corporate body of the Assembly, is responsible for providing the Assembly with "property, staff and services".

It consists of five members of the Assembly and is chaired by the Speaker. The Business Committee consists of the Whips from the various political parties. It makes arrangements for the business of the Assembly. Details of the membership and workings of these bodies can be found by following the above links. The Pre Devolution or "Shadow" period In the early months of the Shadow Assembly, some further elements were added to its basic structure by means of amendments to Standing Orders. One such change created the Committee of the Centre to examine and report on various functions carried out in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. During the six months from September 1998 much of the necessary preparatory work for devolution was done. This included the establishment of a Committee to draw up Standing Orders for the procedures to govern operations of the Assembly and also the formation of a Shadow Assembly Commission, which became the Assembly Commission after devolution. Agreement was reached on the creation of new departmental structures. These were approved by the Assembly on 18 January 1999 and form the basis of the present Northern Ireland Departments . At the same time, the Assembly approved various areas for North/South co-operation.

On 16 February 1999 the Assembly approved the numbers and titles of the new Departments and also provided for the composition and operation of the Civic Forum. Details of all these arrangements can be found in a report of 15 February 1999 from the First Minister (Designate) and the Deputy First Minister (Designate) (NNIA7). With the approval of Standing Orders on 9 March 1999 this preparatory work was completed. The Shadow Assembly did not meet again in plenary session until 15 July 1999. Despite the fact that agreement had not been reached on the formation of an Executive, the Assembly met on 15 July 1999 to activate the d'Hondt procedure for the nomination of Ministers. However, only Sinn Fein and the SDLP made nominations. Since, under Additional Initial Standing Orders, Ministers could only hold office if their nominations included three designated Unionists and three designated Nationalists the conditions for their appointment had not been met and the Assembly was adjourned. US Senator George Mitchell presided over a review of the political process which began on 6 September and concluded on 19 November 1999.

The Assembly met on 29 November 1999. Ten Ministers , three each from the UUP and the SDLP and two each from the DUP and Sinn Fein, were nominated at this meeting as well as the Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons for the 10 Statutory Departmental Committees - details of their membership and work to date. Membership of the Statutory Departmental Committees was subsequently agreed among the Party Whips in accordance with Standing Orders and formally announced to the Assembly the next day. On 30 November 1999 the Secretary of State made the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Commencement Order No 5), resulting in the devolution of powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2 December 1999. Lord Alderdice was confirmed as Speaker upon devolution and continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement on 29 February 2004. The Assembly after devolution On 14 December 1999, the Assembly approved the appointment of two Junior Ministers, one each from the UUP and the SDLP.

Standing Orders made provision for six Standing Committees - Committee on Procedures , the Business Committee , the Public Accounts Committee , the Committee on Standards and Privileges and the Audit Committee . The Speaker chairs the Business Committee and nominates the Deputy Chairpersons who act in his absence. On 15 December 1999, the Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the other five Standing Committees were nominated according to the d'Hondt procedure. On 11 February 2000, following reports from the International Commission on Decommissioning that it had "received no information from the IRA as to when decommissioning will start", the then Secretary of State, Rt Hon Peter Mandelson MP, under powers derived from the Northern Ireland Act 2000 , suspended the Executive and restored Direct Rule. An agreement was subsequently reached that allowed the restoration of devolution with effect from 30 May 2000. The continuing argument about decommissioning led to the resignation of David Trimble as First Minister on 1 July 2001 followed, on 18 October 2001, by other UUP Ministers.

To allow time to resolve that situation the Secretary of State ordered 24-hour suspensions of the Assembly on 10 August and 22 September 2001. David Trimble was eventually re-elected on 5 November 2001 as First Minister along with Mark Durkan as Deputy First Minister to replace Seamus Mallon who had retired. In the 11 months up to the most recent period of suspension, which began on 14 October 2002, the Executive, the Assembly and its Committees met regularly. Business transacted included the following: The Executive produced a Draft Programme for Government (subtitled 'Reinvestment and Reform') and a Draft Budget for 2003-04. The various Committees published nearly 50 reports on such diverse subjects as the foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak in Northern Ireland, protection of children and vulnerable adults, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, fur farming, the Water Service (leakage management and water efficiency) and housing and homelessness. The Assembly debated and passed 17 Acts in 2001 and 14 in 2002. Members also began the practice of presenting public petitions on constituency related issues.

The first of these was presented on 15 January 2002 by Maurice Morrow MLA on the subject of Trillick Agricultural Office. There were many important and well-attended debates on such varied topics as the future of education, the Health Service, public accounts, telecommunications and the Children's Commissioner. Members raised matters of importance in their own constituencies by means of Adjournment debates. The final Adjournment debate, which was the last matter for discussion in the first mandate, was on the subject of the future of the Mater Hospital in Belfast. On Tuesday 8 October 2002 the Assembly debated a DUP motion expressing concern at the implications of a search of the Sinn Fein offices at Parliament Buildings on 4 October 2002 and the subsequent arrest of three Sinn Fein party members on spying charges. This led directly to the suspension of the Assembly by the Secretary of State on 14 October 2002. Suspension and Restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly On 14 October 2002 Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, wrote to the Speaker informing him of his decision to suspend the devolved institutions.

The Speaker relayed the Secretary of State's message to the Assembly that morning. Business proceeded as planned that day, with suspension taking effect from midnight on 14 October 2002. Following the suspension of the Assembly, legislation being considered by the Assembly was processed instead through Westminster, where it took the form of Orders in Council. The Assembly was formally dissolved on 28 April 2003 in anticipation of an election in May 2003. The Secretary of State decided to postpone the election and it eventually took place on 26 November 2003. The results of the election changed the balance of power in the Assembly. In the first mandate, the Ulster Unionist Party was the largest party followed by the SDLP, the DUP and Sinn Fein. Following the November 2003 election, the party representation in the NI Assembly is as follows: DUP The Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly Information correct on 28 Jan 2001 What is the Assembly? Despite being a distinct state within the United Kingdom since 1921 , Northern Ireland has been governed directly from Londom for 30 years.

The historic Good Friday Agreement of April 1998 set up, as well as many other things, a 'Home-Rule' Assembly that would allow Northern Ireland people to govern many of their own affairs from Belfast. This Assembly would appoint a 12-strong ruling Executive to make the real decisions. The 108 members of the Assembly were elected in June 1998, although political wrangling prevented it from taking up the reins of power until November 1999, and it only ran for 3 months before more political wrangling caused it to be suspended again. However, once the problems had been solved, the Assembly was restored in May 2000 and has ben running ever since. Timetable of the Formation of the Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly was first agreed upon as part of the Good Friday Agreement , which was ratified by the political parties on 10 April 1998. The Agreement was ratified separately by the people of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic on 10 May 1998. The Assembly was officially created at this point, although it as yet held no powers.

The Assembly is unusual amoung democratic parliaments in that some decisions require separate majorities of Nationalist and Unionist members in order to be passed, rather than a single majority. There are 108 seats, with a post of First Minister and Deputy First Minister. There are also 10 ministerial posts, each representing a facet of Northern Irish government. Each Ministry also has a chairman, who must be from a different party to the Minister. The 10 Ministers along with the 2 First Ministers form the Executive, which was to be formed at a later date. Elections to the Assembly were held in June 1998, and the Assembly met in shadow format shortly afterwards. In the election, the UUP had 28 seats, SDLP 24, DUP 20, Sinn Fein 18, Alliance 6, UKUP 5, PUP 2, Women's Coalition 2 and 3 independent candidates. The Executive was to be formed and power was due to be devolved shortly afterwards, but political wrangling, chiefly between the UUP and Sinn Fein, prevented this from happening for a long time.

The Assembly did not meet during this time, and Northern Ireland continued to be run from London. On 21 September 1998, the 3 independent candidates formed the United Unionist Assembly Party. On 15 January 1999, 4 of the 5 UKUP Assembly members broke away and formed the Northern Ireland Unionist Party. In July 1999, the UK government decided to stop the political wrangling by forcing the formation of the Executive. However, the Unionist members boycotted the meeting, and the Executive was set up with only Nationalist ministers. It was dissolved again within an hour. That was technically Northern Ireland's first governing Executive, but it will probably not go down in history as such. In the summer of 1999, Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon resigned. In the Autumn of 1999, there was a review of the Good Friday Agreement in which the UUP and Sinn Fein eventually resolved their problems. The UK government representative in Northern Ireland (Mo Mowlam) was replaced by Peter Mandelson during this time. On 29 November 1999, the Executive was formed for a second time ( read about this ).

This time things went to plan. The UUP formed the Executive in return for an indication that the IRA would begin decommissioning. Details of the ministries can be found below. Seamus Mallon was reinstated as Deputy First Minister. On 2 December 1999, Roger Hutchinson was expelled from the Northern Ireland Unionist Party. He then became an independent. At 17:40 on 11 February 2000 the Executive and Assembly were suspended by the UK government ( read about this ) due to the failure of the IRA to begin decommissioning. Following the IRA's decision to allow independent inspection of a small number of its arms dumps, a proposal which was very narrowly accepted by the UUP, the Executive was reinstanted and powers returned to the Assembly on 30 May 2000. So far it has survived. On 27 July 2000, the two DUP ministers Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds resigned to be replaced by Maurice Morrow and Gregory Campbell. This is part of their strategy of non-cooperation.

On 16 November 2000, Independent Unionist Roger Hutchinson (NIUP party member from Jan to Dec 1999) joined the DUP. On 4 December 2000, SDLP leader John Hume resigned as an Assembly Member, to concentrate on his work at the UK Parliament at Westminister and in the European Parliament. He was replaced 7 days later by the SDLP's Annie Courtney. On 24 Jan 2001, the UK government representative in Northern Ireland, Peter Mandelson, was replaced by former Scottish Secretary Dr John Reid. On 1 July 2001, the First Minister David Trimble resigned in protest at the continued failure of the IRA to begin decommissioning. By Assembly rules, this automatically caused Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon to lose his post also. There was then 4 months of political discussions culminating in a gesture of IRA decommissioning in October 2001. On 17 September 2001, SDLP leader John Hume retired from the leadership.

On 2 November 2001, David Trimble (UUP) and Mark Durkan (SDLP) failed to be elected as First and Deputy First Ministers by one vote, when two members of the UUP (Peter Weir and Pauline Armitage) voted against their own leader. On 6 November 2001, David Trimble (UUP) and Mark Durkan (SDLP) were elected First and Deputy First Ministers when several members of the non-aligned Alliance Party temporarily redesignated themselves as Unionists in order to swing the vote in favour of Trimble and Durkan. This resulted in 31 of 60 Unionist votes in favour. All 38 Nationalists voted in favour. On 10 November 2001, Peter Weir was expelled from the UUP (see 2 Nov above). Pauline Armitage was suspended. On 11 November 2001, Mark Durkan was elected to the leadership of the SDLP. However, he had been the only nominee so the post had been known since 28 September 2001.

The 12 Ministers who sit on the Northern Ireland Executive The real power of the Assembly is the 12-strong Executive appointed by the directly elected Assembly. The first two posts are First and Deputy First Minister. Click here for the web site of these posts. First Minister: David Trimble (since 6 Nov 2001) Deputy First Minister: Mark Durkan (since 6 Nov 2001) The remaining 10 members are appointed to a Ministry, each of which is in charge of a particular aspect of government. Each Ministry also has a Chairman who must be from a different persuasion to the Minister.

The following is the current list of Ministers and links to the Ministry's web site: Ministry The 108-strong Assembly is made up as follows: 27 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) 24 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 21 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 18 Sinn Fein 3 Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP) 3 United Unionist Assembly Party (UUAP) 2 Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) 2 Northern Ireland Womens' Coalition (NIWC) 1 United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) 1 independent Unionist assembly member The names of these are as follows (party leaders in bold face): . Roy Beggs Junior (Antrim East) William Bell (Lagan Valley) Joan Carson (Fermanagh / S. Tyrone) Fred Cobain (Belfast North) Sam Foster (Fermanagh / S.

Tyrone) John Gorman (North Down) Tommy Gallagher (F'agh / S Tyrone) Carmel Hanna (Belfast South) Maurice Morrow (Fermanagh / S Tyrone) Ian Paisley (Antrim North) Ian Paisley Junior (Antrim North) Edwin Poots (Lagan Valley) Bairbre De Brun (Belfast West) Pat Docherty (West Tyrone) Michelle Gildernew (F'agh / S Tyrone) Gerry Kelly (Belfast North) Gerry McHugh (Fermanagh / S Tyrone) Mitchell McLaughlin (Foyle) Jane Morrice (North Down) Footnotes: 1 Elected as United Kingdom Unionist Party, but split and formed the NIUP on 15 January 1999. 2 Expelled from the Northern Ireland Unionist Party on 2 December 1999. 3 Elected as independents, but formed the United Unionist Assembly party on 21 September 1998. 4 Joined the DUP on 16 November 2000. 5 Since 11 December 2000.

She replaced party leader John Hume, who resigned as an Assembly Member on 4 December 2000 to concentrate on his work at the UK Parliament at Westminister and in the European Parliament. 6 Expelled from the UUP on 10 November 2001 for voting against the party leader. CNN - Trimble, Mallon elected leaders of N. Irish Assembly - July 1, 1998 Trimble, Mallon elected leaders of N. Irish Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly meets for the first time July 1, 1998 Web posted at: 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- The newly created Northern Ireland Assembly elected a Protestant leader and Catholic deputy Wednesday in a major step down the province's long road to peace. Ulster Unionist Party head David Trimble became first minister, and Seamus Mallon of the Social Democratic and Labor Party was named deputy first minister. The two leaders were elected on a joint vote of 61-27. Seventeen of the Assembly's 108 members abstained -- all members of the Sinn Fein party -- and three were absent.

The election was the first major decision made by the Assembly, which was set up as part of a peace accord that was approved by voters both north and south of the Irish border in separate referenda in May. Trimble warns of difficulties ahead for the newly created assembly RELATED AUDIO 281 K / 25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Together, Trimble and Mallon will head a 12-member executive body with full legislative and executive authority in the fields of education, agriculture, economic development, environment, finance, health and social security. One of the first tasks facing the new leaders will be to try to avert sectarian clashes on Sunday when the Protestant Orange Order plans to march through the Catholic area of Portadown, the scene of serious violence in the past. The election came after party representatives from both sides of the religious and political divide laid out their views and visions for the new Assembly in an often heated and emotional presentation that echoed 30 years of sectarian conflict. But Trimble, speaking shortly before his election, tried to smooth the waves and called for tolerance.

"We're now coming out of the morass of the past 30 years," Trimble said, referring to "terrorism and political violence that this community has suffered." Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams (L) and Martin McGuinness "We're not yet out of this morass," Trimble underlined, but he added that the people now had a voice within the format of a democratically elected assembly to make themselves heard. "There will be no magic wand to solve the current problems," Trimble said, adding that much work lies ahead for the new institution. "There are some people in this room that have done terrible things," Trimble said in apparent reference to former paramilitary members now sitting in the Assembly. The body includes convicted Irish Republican Army bomber Gerry Kelly and two former Protestant guerrillas who fought the IRA for years before turning to politics -- David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson. Trimble said it is important to recognize that people can change, and that it will be crucial for the future of the Assembly, as well as Northern Ireland's communities, that there is now a commitment by all parties to pursue the "democratic process" of government.

During the debate, Mallon was challenged to outline his views on the contentious issue of the decommissioning of paramilitary arms. Mallon responded by saying that he clearly favored getting illegal arms out of the hands of sectarian groups. Protestant hard-liners have accused Sinn Fein of not wanting its military wing, the IRA, to hand over its weapons -- an allegation firmly rejected by Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein member Martin McGuinness said during the debate that his party is now a democratically elected representative group in the Assembly, despite what he said were attempts by Protestant hard-liners to keep Sinn Fein out of the body. McGuinness challenged his opponents to accept Sinn Fein's presence and work with the party in a democratic way. Earlier in the debate, the fiercely pro-London Rev. Ian Paisley , the leader of a 28-strong bloc of Protestants opposed to the peace agreement, signaled his determination to make every step of decision-making a drawn-out fight by criticizing the Assembly's speaker, Lord Alderdice , for a technicality.

Alderdice adjourned the meeting briefly to allow each party's members to sign the assembly's official register, which required them to designate themselves as Nationalist (Catholic), Unionist (Protestant) or Other. The Northern Ireland Assembly gives Northern Ireland its first measure of home-rule since 1974. Among other things, it will be charged with forging closer relations with the neighboring Irish republic. Reuters contributed to this report. CNN In-Depth: Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 1998 As a part of the Good Friday Agreement , agreed to by eight political parties and the British and Irish governments to bring about a peaceful resolution to the Northern Ireland conflict, there were elections to a new power-sharing Assembly for Northern Ireland on June 25th 1998. The Assembly itself now has a web-site at . On 12 February 2000 it and the associated institutions were suspended, but were restored on 30 May. They were again suspended for 24 hours on 11 August 2001 and 22 September 2001, and once more from 14 October 2002.

There are many other sites which deal with the context of the Assembly election, and you could do worse than start with the Assembly itself . Elsewhere on this site you will find Jim Riley's analysis of how votes turned into seats in the election , and a complete list of candidates , including their previous electoral records (for analysis of this see below). CAIN also has a page of results . Standard media including the BBC , Belfast Telegraph and Irish Times carried special sections for the occasion. Tobias Zywietz' UK Election Statistics Database includes a Northern Ireland Assembly elections page ; the complete election results, count-by-count , are available in spreadsheet format from Keith Edkins, and Wilfried Derksen's Elections Around the World site also includes a Northern Ireland page . If you want even more fun you should get hold of Ciaran Quinn's superb little election programme at . The results 108 members were elected to the new Assembly; each of the existing 18 parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland elected 6 members of the new body by the Single Transferable Vote . See spreadsheet archive .

2.85% 3 seats This graph contrasts the 1998 Assembly election result with the elections of the Assembly in 2003, theForum in 1996, the Assembly in 1982, the Constitutional Convention in 1975 and the Assembly in 1973. Here are more details . Analysis This was a very bad election for the UUP, whose vote has never been lower. It was disappointing for Alliance and for the UDP. The UKUP and Women's Coalition made the breakthrough that the PUP had hoped for. The DUP and Sinn Fein performed slightly better than in previous elections. But the SDLP were most delighted to outpoll everyone else for the first time ever.

The closest results were: Danny O'Connor of the SDLP defeated Jack McKee of the DUP by 49 votes in East Antrim Carmel Hanna of the SDLP defeated Steve McBride of the Alliance Party by 151 votes in South Belfast (with some votes undistributed which would have made the final result closer) Cedric Wilson of the UKUP defeated Danny McCarthy of the SDLP by 159 votes in Strangford Independent Unionist Fraser Agnew defeated Martin Morgan of the SDLP by 289 votes in North Belfast Peter Weir of the UUP defeated Alan Graham of the DUP by 308 votes in North Down (ironically he then joined the DUP in 2002). Subsequent developments: On July 1, 1998, David Trimble, leader of the UUP, and Sï¿½amus Mallon, deputy leader of the SDLP, were elected First Minister and Deputy First Minister respectively. Lord Alderdice had resigned as leader of the Alliance Party immediately after the election and was appointed Initial Presiding Officer of the Assembly by the Secretary of State.

The three members elected as independent Unionists formed a new United Unionist Assembly Party in September 1998, and four of the five UKUP Assembly members formed a new Northern Ireland Unionist Party in January 1999. On 15 July 1999, Sï¿½amus Mallon resigned as Deputy First Minister, but his resignation was rescinded on 29 November by a vote of the Assembly and the Ministers and committee posts were appointed. From 30 November 1999 one of the NIUP (ex-UKUP) Assembly Members (Roger Hutchinson) sat as an independent Unionist. At the point of devolution of powers Lord Alderdice became Speaker rather than Presiding Officer. The Assembly and all the associated institutions were suspended from 12 February 2000, and restored to operation on 30 May 2000. Two DUP Ministers resigned on 27 July and were replaced by two other MLA's from the same party.

John Hume announced on 30 August 2000 that he would soon resign his seat in the Assembly, and did so on 1 December; his Foyle seat was taken by Annie Courtney, also of the SDLP. Tom Benson, MLA for Strangford from the UUP, died on 24 December 2000; his seat was filled by Tom Hamilton, also of the UUP. Roger Hutchinson MLA joined the DUP on 16 November 2000, having been expelled from the NIUP (he was originally elected for the UKUP.) David Trimble resigned as First Minister on 1 July 2001. Sir Reg Empey and Seamus Mallon fulfilled the duties of First Minister and Deputy First Minister until November 6th (with gaps as noted below). John Taylor took the title Lord Kilclooney, gazetted on 17 July 2001. The Assembly and all the associated institutions were again suspended for 24 hours on 11 August 2001, and once more on 22 September. Two DUP Ministers resigned on 24 October and were replaced by two other MLA's from the same party.

On 6 November 2001, David Trimble and Mark Durkan were elected First Minister and Deputy first Minister respectively. Durkan's election as Deputy First Minister necessitated a small reshuffle of the SDLP members of the Executive on 14 December 2001. A UUP minister resigned and was replaced by another UUP MLA on 20 February 2002. Peter Weir MLA joined the DUP on 29 April 2002; he had originally been elected for the UUP. The two DUP Ministers resigned on 11 October 2002. The institutions were all suspended from 15 October 2002. Westminster (and Strasbourg and Oireachtas) records Ian Paisley (Sr) and John Hume are also both members of the Westminster House of Commons and of the European Parliament. Seven other Assembly members (Gerry Adams, John Taylor as he then was, Sï¿½amus Mallon, Bob McCartney, Martin McGuinness, Peter Robinson and David Trimble) were also Westminster MPs at the time of the 1998 election.

In 2001 Taylor retired and got a peerage, and McCartney lost his seat, but four more MLA's won seats at Westminster - Nigel Dodds and Iris Robinson for the DUP, and Michelle Gildernew and Pat Doherty for Sinn Fï¿½in. Lord Alderdice as a life peer was already sitting in the House of Lords at the time of the 1998 election; he has now been joined by John Taylor whose title is Lord Kilclooney. Several candidates - Mallon, Sam McAughtrey, Brid Rodgers - had been members of the Irish Senate though none (I think) had ever been TDs, and none were Senators at the time of the election. Of the 125 candidates in the 1997 Westminster election, 84 also stood in the 1998 Assembly election (16 SDLP, 13 Sinn Fï¿½in, 13 Natural Law Party, 10 Alliance, 9 DUP, 7 UUP, 6 Workers Party, 2 PUP, 2 Women's Coalition and one Green, one UKUP, one Independent and one Independent Labour who stood as Labour in 1998).

Of these, 48 were actually elected to the Assembly (15 SDLP, 7 UUP, 8 DUP, 8 Sinn Fï¿½in, 5 Alliance, and one each from UKUP, PUP and Women's Coalition). As noted above nine were elected also to Westminster (no MP stood unsuccessfully for the Assembly, unlike in 1982).

Ten candidates switched constituency between the 1997 Westminster election and the 1998 Assembly election as follows: Eileen Bell (Alliance) stood in Foyle in 1997 and North Down in 1998; Yvonne Boyle (Alliance) stood in East Londonderry in 1997 and Mid Ulster in 1998; Annie Campbell (Women's Coalition) stood in South Belfast in 1997 and Lagan Valley in 1998; Mary Daly (Natural Law Party) stood in West Belfast in 1997 and Mid-Ulster in 1998; David Ervine (PUP) stood in South Belfast in 1997 and East Belfast in 1998; Patricia Lewsley (SDLP) stood in East Belfast in 1997 and Lagan Valley in 1998; Maura McCann (Natural Law Party) stood in East Antrim in 1997 and East Londonderry in 1998; Tom Mullins (Natural Law Party) stood in North Down in 1997 and South Down in 1998;

 Garret O Fachtna (Sinn Fï¿½in) stood in Strangford in 1997 and South Down in 1998; and Hughie Smyth (PUP) stood in South Antrim in 1997 and West Belfast in 1998.

Of the ten, none was elected in 1997 and Bell, Ervine and Lewsley were elected in 1998. All five Westminster election candidates in Newry and Armagh stood again for the Assembly, and three were elected. All five Westminster candidates in Foyle also stood for the Assembly and four were elected, but as noted above one of them had switched to North Down, where she had better luck. Eight of the candidates in South Belfast in 1997 were also candidates for the Assembly in 1998, but Alastair McDonnell was the only candidate elected from South Belfast in 1998 who had also been a candidate there in 1997 (David Ervine was elected for East Belfast). Comparison with previous regional elections The turnover of personnel between the 1996 Forum and the 1998 Assembly is quite striking. Only 61 of the 110 Forum members were elected to the new Assembly which I would describe as a high rate of change.

Of the 90 members elected from constituency lists to the Forum, almost a quarter (8 UUP, 7 DUP, 5 SF, one each from Alliance and SDLP) did not seek election in 1998, and another 15 (8 UUP, 3 each from DUP and SDLP, and one Alliance) were rejected by the voters. Of the 20 elected by the 'top-up' portion of the Forum election, 6 did not stand again (2 SDLP, one each from UUP, SF, UKUP and Labour), 6 did try their luck in constituencies but were unsuccessful (2 UDP, and one each from DUP, PUP, NIWC and Labour) and 8 were elected to the new Assembly (2 Alliance, one each from UUP, DUP, SF, UKUP, PUP and NIWC). 47 out of 108 members of the new Assembly, including over half of the Assembly members of the largest party (the UUP), were not elected in 1996. Only one Forum member (Martin McGuinness) sought election in 1998 in a different constituency to 1996.

19 members of the 1998 Assembly, Gerry Adams (SF), Fraser Agnew (UUAP - previously UUP), Billy Bell (UUP), Gregory Campbell (DUP), Seamus Close (Alliance), Ivan Davis (UUP - previously DUP), Sean Farren (SDLP), Denis Haughey (SDLP), Joe Hendron (SDLP), John Hume (SDLP), Sï¿½amus Mallon (SDLP), Bob McCartney (UKUP - previously UUP), Eddie McGrady (SDLP), William McCrea (DUP), Sean Neeson (Alliance), Ian Paisley (DUP), Peter Robinson (DUP), John Taylor (UUP) and Jim Wells (DUP) were all elected to the 1982-86 Assembly, though of course only the Unionists and Alliance took their seats.

David Trimble (UUP - previously Vanguard), Sir Reg Empey (UUP - previously Vanguard), Billy Bell (UUP), Joe Hendron (SDLP), John Hume (SDLP), Sï¿½amus Mallon (SDLP), Eddie McGrady (SDLP), Ian Paisley (DUP), and John Taylor (UUP) were all elected to the 1975 Constitutional Convention. Former UUP deputy leader Lord Kilclooney (John Taylor), former SDLP leader John Hume, his colleagues Sï¿½amus Mallon and Eddie McGrady, and DUP leader Ian Paisley have been elected at all five regional elections since Stormont was abolished. Kilclooney, Hume and Paisley all served in the Stormont House of Commons as well.

Local Councillors 184 of the candidates for the Assembly had also been candidates in the local government elections of 1997 (31 UUP, 29 SDLP, 28 DUP, 21 SF, 20 Alliance, 9 Workers Party, 7 PUP, 5 UDP, 4 Women's Coalition, 4 Natural Law Party, 3 UKUP, 2 Socialists, 2 Greens, 2 Conservatives, 2 Labour, and 15 others). Of these 184, 141 had been elected as councillors in May 1997 (29 UUP, 27 SDLP, 26 DUP, 20 SF, 13 Alliance, 5 PUP, 4 UDP, 2 UKUP, one each for the Women's Coalition, Socialists and Conservatives, and 12 others). 66 of these 141 were also elected to the Assembly (17 SDLP, 16 UUP, 15 DUP, 9 SF, 5 Alliance, 2 PUP and 2 Independent Unionists).

Of these 66, 38 had been elected to the Forum/Talks in 1996 (12 DUP, 8 SDLP, 7 UUP, 6 SF, 4 Alliance and 1 PUP). 16 local councillors had also been elected to the Forum/Talks in 1996 and stood unsuccessfully for the Assembly (5 UUP, 4 SDLP including Paddy McGowan who stood as an independent in 1998, 4 DUP and one each from Alliance, the PUP and the UDP). And finally, two of those elected in 1996 stood unsuccessfully in both the 1997 local government elections and the 1998 Assembly elections (Pearl Sagar of the Women's Coalition and May Steele of the UUP). In East Londonderry all six of the MLA's elected in June 1998 were also local councillors at the time of the election, though one (Gregory Campbell) represented an area outside the constituency.

In Foyle, East Belfast and North Belfast all but one of the MLA's were local councillors at the time of the election, the "odd men out" being respectively John Hume, Lord Alderdice and Gerry Kelly (though in North Belfast Fraser Agnew represents a local council electoral area that borders but does not overlap with the North Belfast constituency). At the other extreme, in North Down only Eileen Bell of the Alliance Party is both an MLA and a local councillor. Ten of the thirteen candidates who had stood in the Belfast Laganbank electoral area in the 1997 local government elections also stood in the 1998 Assembly elections, including all five councillors. Only two (Alastair McDonnell and Michael McGimpsey) were successful. It is striking that only four candidates of the 40 who failed to get elected to their local council in 1997 found their luck turning in 1998 (Patricia Lewsley of the SDLP, Peter Weir of the UUP, Michelle Gildernew of SF, Norman Boyd of the UKUP). Three of these four (Weir, Lewsley and Boyd) probably did not expect to win in 1998 either.

Only Peter Weir of the four had been elected to the Forum/Talks in 1996. Women in the Assembly election 14 women were elected to the Assembly in 1998 (5 Sinn Fein, 3 SDLP, 2 Women's Coalition, 2 UUP and one each from the Alliance Party and DUP). Two represent each of the following constituencies: North Down, Fermanagh/South Tyrone, West Befast, South Belfast, and Upper Bann. The others represent East Londonderry, Lagan Valley, Foyle and Strangford. (They have since been joined by a fifteenth woman, Annie Courtney, who replaced John Hume as a representative for Foyle in 2000.) The constituency with the highest first preference vote for women candidates was Upper Bann (16,196 - 32%). The least advanced constituency in this respect was Mid Ulster (535 - 1%). 49 candidates out of 296 were women.

On average they were slightly less successful in getting elected than men (36% of all candidates were elected, 29% of all female candidates, 38% of all male candidates). The parties in order of the proportion of women among their candidates are the Women's Coalition (100%), Alliance (27.3%), Natural Law Party (22.2%), Sinn Fein (21.6%), Conservatives (16.7%), SDLP (15.8%), DUP (11.8%), Workers Party (11.1%), Labour (10%), PUP and UUP (8.3%), and UKUP (7.7%). Some of the smaller parties which got nobody elected ran no women candidates at all (UDP, Greens). 63% of male DUP candidates were elected to the Assembly, but only one of their four female candidates (Iris Robinson) was similarly fortunate. The only party whose women candidates were more successful than their men was Sinn Fein (since the Women's Coalition ran no male candidates, no comparison is possible). Thanks to Professor Connie Rynder of the University of Tampa for clarifying some of these points with me.

Constituency List This graphic shows the geographical distribution of seats by party in the election. East Belfast 2 DUP, 2 UUP, 1 Alliance (now Speaker), 1 PUP North Belfast 1 SF, 1 DUP, 1 SDLP, 1 UUP, 1 PUP, 1 Ind U (now UUAP) South Belfast 2 UUP, 2 SDLP, 1 DUP, 1 NIWC David Trimble | British politician | Britannica.com British politician Alternative Title: William David Trimble David Trimble Betty Williams David Trimble, in full William David Trimble (born Oct. 15, 1944, Belfast , N.Ire.), politician who served as first minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly (1998–2002), leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP; 1995–2005), and a member of the British Parliament (1990–2005). In 1998 Trimble and John Hume , leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

While a professor of law at Queen’s University of Belfast, Trimble was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP) in 1975. The VUPP opposed direct rule of Northern Ireland by the British government and pushed for stringent measures against the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Trimble became deputy leader of the VUPP, supporting a coalition with the SDLP. In 1977 he joined the Official (now Ulster) Unionist Party, and he eventually became an executive member of the UUP and, in 1990, a member of the British Parliament. He succeeded James Molyneaux as leader of the UUP in 1995, defeating the preelection favourite, John Taylor . Trimble’s election was regarded as a victory for the right wing of the UUP, primarily because of his association with Ian Paisley , the militant leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). In 1995 Trimble negotiated a compromise that permitted the Orange Order , a Protestant fraternal organization, to march through the Roman Catholic neighbourhood of Portadown.

After the march, Trimble and Paisley were seen celebrating their victory over Catholic residents. Despite his association with hard-line unionists, Trimble proved willing to depart from traditional unionist demands when he represented the UUP in multiparty peace talks beginning in September 1997. These talks, which included members of Sinn Féin , the political wing of the IRA, culminated in the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) of April 1998 on steps aimed at restoring self-government in Northern Ireland. Defying opposition from Paisley and the DUP as well as the conservative wing of his own party, Trimble signed the agreement and was later vindicated when it was accepted in referenda passed in Northern Ireland and the Irish republic in May. In elections for the new Northern Ireland Assembly held the following month, the UUP won the largest number of seats, and Trimble was subsequently elected first minister.

Conflict over the timing and extent of IRA decommissioning (disarmament) blocked implementation of the Good Friday Agreement until Trimble, buoyed by IRA concessions , persuaded the Ulster Unionist Council, the UUP’s governing body, to allow him to share governmental authority with Sinn Féin in 1999 and again in 2000. In July 2001 Trimble briefly resigned as first minister, charging that the IRA had not fulfilled its decommissioning agreement. He continued to serve as first minister until October 2002, when the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended by the British government. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Despite facing internal dissension over his policies and the UUP’s being eclipsed in the assembly elections of 2003 by the DUP as Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party, Trimble was reelected party leader in 2004. In 2005, however, Trimble was defeated in his bid for reelection to the House of Commons , and the UUP won only a single seat while the DUP won nine. Shortly after the election Trimble resigned as UUP leader.

In 2006 he was elevated to the House of Lords . The following year he left the UUP to join the Conservative Party . BBC News | Latest News | Trimble elected First Minister Wednesday, July 1, 1998 Published at 17:40 GMT 18:40 UK Trimble elected First Minister Political enemies sat opposite each other in the assembly The 108 members of the new Northern Ireland Assembly have taken their seats for the inaugural session at Stormont. The first day in a new political landscape. BBC Northern Ireland correspondent Dennis Murray reports Among its first business was to elect Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble as First Minister and the SDLP's Seamus Mallon as his deputy. The first session was chaired by Lord John Alderdice, who resigned earlier this week as leader of the cross-party Alliance Party. He was selected unopposed as presiding officer of the assembly. 108 members took their seats for the first session at Stormont The position of deputy presiding officer was left unfilled after no nominee was put forward. A shirt-sleeved Gerry Adams took his seat opposite Ian Paisley in the chamber which also includes convicted IRA bomber Gerry Kelly.

One of the assembly's first tasks was to elect Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble as First Minister. His deputy is Seamus Mallon, deputy leader of the SDLP, the second-strongest party in the assembly. There were 88 votes cast in the ballot with 61 in favour of the proposal. Party leader John Hume said a heavy workload prevented him from putting his own name forward. Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon were formally proposed by the Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader John Taylor, who paid tribute to both as men of courage and vision. The proposal was seconded by John Hume and both Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon accepted the nomination. Gerry Adams then rose to his feet to express his support for the two men, speaking in Irish. Members were required to sign in Earlier, Mr Trimble echoed the sentiment, expressed by many, that the new assembly would be able to work constructively. He said: "I hope we are not going to see a day of stunts, people starting rows and walkouts.

"I hope we are getting past that and going to talk and show a determination to tackle our problems in a constructive spirit." Jane Morrice, of the Women's Coalition said: "It is a very proud moment, it is history being made. "We have got 108 people going in there who have been elected to do something and we are going to work hard." BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland: 1998 - 1999 Northern Ireland Printable version Northern Ireland: 1998 - 1999 The key events in Northern Ireland from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement to devolution. Click on the links for other years. 2003: Endgame? April 1998: The 65-page agreement is drawn up, proposing devolution of some central government power to a Northern Ireland assembly. It is welcomed by the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and Sinn Fein. DUP leader Ian Paisley denounces it as "treacherous".

21 May 1998: The first all-Ireland poll since the general election of 1918 sees the agreement approved by 71.2% of voters in Northern Ireland and 95% of the Republic of Ireland electorate. 29 June 1998: David Trimble is elected First Minister designate of the assembly with the SDLP's Seamus Mallon Deputy First Minister. 15 August 1998: Dissident republicans using the name "Real IRA" detonate a 500lb bomb in the centre of Omagh on a busy Saturday afternoon. The bomb kills 28 people outright and injures 200 - the worst single atrocity of the Troubles. A 29th victim dies later. September 1998: Assembly is elected, with Ulster Unionists winning the largest share of the vote and 28 seats. The SDLP takes 24, with Sinn Fein winning 18. 16 February 1999: The assembly votes to accept a report on the devolution of powers from Westminster and a deadline of 10 March is set to establish the executive.

This is later postponed to 2 April - Good Friday. 1 April 1999: All-party talks at Hillsborough Castle end with call for establishment of an executive within three weeks. But Sinn Fein says it cannot deliver IRA decommissioning before the executive sits, as the UUP insists. 20 May 1999: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair sets an "absolute deadline" of 30 June for agreement on the formation of an executive, or the assembly will be suspended. 30 June 1999: The deadline passes without agreement. Tony Blair agrees to an extension. 15 July 1999: A meeting of the assembly to nominate ministers for the executive collapses as the UUP refuses to attend over Sinn Fein's stance on decommissioning. Seamus Mallon resigns as deputy first minister. Talks at Stormont to resolve the dispute also fail. 17 July 1999:London and Dublin ask former US senator George Mitchell, who helped set up the original agreement, to re-enter the peace process. 6 September 1999: George Mitchell's review of the peace process begins.

23 October 1999: The expected cut-off point for Senator Mitchell's review is extended. 17 November 1999: The IRA releases a statement confirming that it will contact the decommissioning body as part of a comprehensive political deal. 18 November 1999: George Mitchell reveals details of the plan to rescue the peace process and allowing the setting up of a power-sharing government. It includes the IRA contacting the decommissioning body as soon as the executive is set up. 27 November 1999: The Ulster Unionist Council backs the Mitchell deal by 480 votes to 349 - paving the way for devolution within days. 29 November 1999: The Northern Assembly meets and Seamus Mallon is reinstated as deputy first minister. D'Hondt mechanism is triggered and 10 ministers are nominated to the Northern Ireland Executive. 30 November 1999: The laws to enable devolution to take place are rushed through both houses of parliament. 1 December 1999: Power is passed from Westminster to Belfast at midnight.

2 December 1999: The Irish government removes its territorial claim to Northern Ireland from its constitution and the Anglo-Irish agreement is revoked. The new Northern Ireland Executive meets for the first time. The IRA announces that it has appointed a representative to the international body on decommissioning. CAIN: Issues: Politics: Government: Northern Ireland Executive - List of Departments and Ministers List of Ministers in the Executive 1998-2002 List of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive Committee 1998-2002 The arrangements for the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland was set out in the Good Friday Agreement that had been agreed as a result of the peace process . The House of Lords and the House of Commons at Westminster approved a devolution order under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on Tuesday 30 November 1999. The order allowed for the transfer of certain powers from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, and the associated new institutions of government. Powers were devolved to the new institutions at midnight Wednesday 1 December 1999. The Northern Ireland Executive Committee was to be the equivalent of the Cabinet of the British government.

The Executive was initially made up of the First Minister, Deputy First Minister, and 10 Ministers each of whom has responsibility for one of the 10 Departments. This page provides details of the Ministers who served on the Executive as well as the Departments they were in charge of during the period from 1 December 1998 through until 14 October 2002. During this time a number of political crises led to devolution being suspended and as a result responsibility for administering Northern Ireland reverted to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). However on 14 October 2002 devolved power was suspended indefinitely. Anyone seeking further details concerning these development should consult the CAIN chronology .

First Minister Mr David Trimble (UUP) (Elected 1 July 1998; obtained devolved power 2 December 1999; resigned 1 July 2001; reinstated 6 November 2001; suspension on 14 October 2002.) Acting First Minister: Sir Reg Empey (UUP) (Served as Acting First Minister 1 July 2001 - 6 November 2001; devolution suspended 10 August 2001 and reinstated 11 August 2001). Deputy First Minister (Appointed 6 November 2001 - suspension 14 October 2002) Former Deputy First MinisterMr Seamus Mallon (SDLP) Elected 1 July 1998; resigned 15 July 1999; reinstated 29 November 1999; obtained devolved power 2 December 1999; resigned 6 November 2001) Agriculture

Question: Who was elected First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998
Answer: David Trimble