| Body | Assembly |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Meeting place | Parliament Buildings, Stormont |
| Election | 2003 assembly election |
| Government | Executive of the 2nd Assembly (Direct Rule) |
| Term start | 15 May 2006 |
| Term end | 29 January 2007 |
| Before | 1st Assembly |
| After | 3rd Assembly |
| Membership 1 | 108 |
| Speaker | Eileen Bell |
| Session1 start | 15 May 2006 |
| Session1 end | 7 July 2006 |
| Session2 start | 11 September 2006 |
| Session2 end | 3 October 2006 |
| Session3 start | 24 November 2006 |
| Session3 end | 29 January 2007 |
The Northern Ireland Assembly elected in November 2003 never met as such: Northern Ireland's devolved government and representative institutions had been suspended with the re-introduction of direct rule by the United Kingdom government on 14 October 2002. However, the persons (Members of the Legislative Assembly, MLAs) elected to the Assembly at the 2003 assembly election were called together in a non-legislative capacity, initially under the Northern Ireland Act 2006[1] and then under the St Andrews Agreement.[2] These bodies failed to form a government before the 2007 election.
The following is a list of the members of that second Assembly,[3] including members co-opted after the election to replace those who had resigned or died, and changes in party affiliation.
Party strengths
| Party | Designation | Nov 2003 election | Jan 2007 end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Unionist Party | Unionist | 30 | 32 | |
| Ulster Unionist Party | Unionist | 27 | 24 | |
| Sinn Féin | Nationalist | 24 | 21 | |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | Nationalist | 18 | 18 | |
| Alliance Party | Other | 6 | 5 | |
| UK Unionist Party | Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| Progressive Unionist Party | Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Nationalist | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent | Other | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent | Unionist | 1 | 2 | |
| Speaker["n" 1] | None | 0 | 1 | |
| Vacant["n" 2] | Nationalist | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals by Designation | Unionist | 60 | 60 | |
| Nationalist | 42 | 41 | ||
| Other | 6 | 6 | ||
| None | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 108 | |||
Notes
MLAs by party
This is a list of MLAs elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election, sorted by party.
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
MLAs by constituency
The list is given in alphabetical order by constituency.
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA ‡ Changed affiliation during the term
Changes since the election
† Co-options
| Date co-opted | Constituency | Party | Outgoing | Co-optee | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 July 2004 | Foyle | Mary Nelis | Raymond McCartney | Resignation of Mary Nelis.[4] | ||
| 29 November 2004 | Belfast West | Bairbre de Brún | Sue Ramsey | Resignation of Bairbre de Brún.[5] | ||
| 25 September 2006 | Belfast West | Michael Ferguson | Vacant | Death of Michael Ferguson.[6] The vacancy remained unfilled on the dissolution of the Assembly. | ||
| 9 January 2007 | Lagan Valley | Patricia Lewsley | Marietta Farrell | Resignation of Patricia Lewsley to take up the post of Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People. | ||
| 23 January 2007 | Belfast East | David Ervine | Dawn Purvis | Death of David Ervine. | ||
‡ Changes in affiliation
| Date | Constituency | Name | Previous affiliation | New affiliation | Circumstance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 December 2003 | Lagan Valley | Jeffrey Donaldson | Jeffrey Donaldson resigned from the UUP.[7] | ||||
| 18 December 2003 | Lagan Valley | Norah Beare | Norah Beare resigned from the UUP.[7] | ||||
| 18 December 2003 | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Arlene Foster | Arlene Foster resigned from the UUP.[7] | ||||
| 5 January 2004 | Lagan Valley | Jeffrey Donaldson | Jeffrey Donaldson joined the DUP.[8] | ||||
| 5 January 2004 | Lagan Valley | Norah Beare | Norah Beare joined the DUP.[8] | ||||
| 5 January 2004 | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Arlene Foster | Arlene Foster joined the DUP.[8] | ||||
| 4 July 2005 | Newry and Armagh | Paul Berry | Paul Berry was suspended by the DUP following an internal disciplinary panel meeting and media coverage of his private life. He resigned from the party outright following legal challenges on 10 February 2006.[9] | ||||
| 23 November 2005 | Mid Ulster | Francie Molloy | Francie Molloy was suspended by Sinn Féin on 23 November 2005 following disagreements about reforms of local government.[10] Molloy was subsequently readmitted to the party.[citation needed] | ||||
| 10 April 2006 | North Down | Eileen Bell | Eileen Bell was appointed Speaker of the Assembly on 10 April 2006 for the first session on 15 May.[11] | ||||
| 15 January 2007 | Mid Ulster | Geraldine Dougan | Geraldine Dougan resigned from Sinn Féin. | ||||
| 2 February 2007 | Newry and Armagh | Davy Hyland | Davy Hyland resigned from Sinn Féin. | ||||
See also
- Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected in 1998
- Members of the Northern Ireland Forum elected in 1996
- Northern Ireland MPs
- 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election
References
- ^ "Northern Ireland Act 2006 (repealed)". Archived 8 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 May 2006.
- ^ "History of the Assembly". www.niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
- ^ "BBC NEWS | Election 2007 | Northern Ireland elections | Results: Overview". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
- ^ "The Northern Ireland Assembly -". Archived from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- ^ "The Northern Ireland Assembly -". Archived from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 2005-12-19.
- ^ "Death of Sinn Fein assembly man". 25 September 2006. Archived 11 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 May 2021. – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Donaldson resigns from UUP". BBC. 18 December 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Ulster Unionist rebels defect to DUP". BBC. 5 January 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Suspended Berry resigns from DUP". 10 February 2006. Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 May 2021. – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "SF member critical of suspension". 23 November 2005. Archived 11 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 May 2021. – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Bell named new assembly speaker". 10 April 2006. Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 May 2021. – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ While in post, the Speaker is not counted as a member of their parliamentary party.
- ^ When Sinn Féin MLA Michael Ferguson died in September 2006, no substitutes were available. Sinn Féin was allowed to use his vote in the Assembly despite his death.