Nichola Mallon was born in Belfast in 1979. Her father was a printer and her mother was a dress-maker. She grew up in the Ardoyne district of North Belfast. Her family were involved in the trade union movement and she took part in May Day rallies as a girl.
When she left university, she joined the civil service before moving to the General Medical Council and then to a job with the SDLP.[2]
Political career
In 2010 she was co-opted by the SDLP onto Belfast City Council to replace Alban Maginness in the Oldpark (District Electoral Area). In 2014, she won the seat in her own right, polling just under 1,000 first preferences. In 2013, she was appointed a special adviser to the SDLP's Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan, but stood down from that position when elected Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2014.[2] She served as the Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2014 to 2015,[3] the first female Irish nationalist politician to hold the position.[4]