3rd Northern Ireland Assembly

3rd Northern Ireland Assembly
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Overview
Legislative body	Assembly
Jurisdiction	Northern Ireland
Meeting place	Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Term	13 March 2007 – 23 March 2011
Election	2007 assembly election
Government	Executive of the 3rd Assembly
Members	108
Speaker	William Hay — Eileen Bell until 8 May 2007
First Minister	Peter Robinson — Arlene Foster until 3 February 2010 — Peter Robinson until 11 January 2010 — Ian Paisley until 5 June 2008
Deputy First Minister	Martin McGuinness
Sessions
1st 13 March 2007 – 20 March 2007 2nd 8 May 2007 – 3 July 2007 3rd 10 September 2007 – 1 July 2008 4th 15 September 2008 – 7 July 2009 5th 14 September 2009 – 30 June 2010 6th 13 September 2010 – 23 March 2011

This is a list of the members of the third Northern Ireland Assembly elected on 7 March 2007 or subsequently co-opted. The third term was the first in the Assembly's history to run to completion.^[1]

Party strengths

Party		Designation	Mar 2007 election	Mar 2011 end
●	Democratic Unionist Party	Unionist	36	35
●	Sinn Féin	Nationalist	28	27
●	Ulster Unionist Party	Unionist	18	16
●	Social Democratic and Labour Party	Nationalist	16	16
●	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland[n 1]	Other	7	7
	Progressive Unionist Party	Unionist	1	0
	Green Party in Northern Ireland	Other	1	1
	Independent	Nationalist	0	1
	Independent	Other	1	1
	Independent	Unionist	0	3
	Speaker[n 2]	None	0	1
Total			108
● = Northern Ireland Executive

Notes

1. Alliance joined the Executive on 12 April 2010, administering the Department of Justice with cross-community support.
2. The MLA elected Speaker by the Assembly relinquishes party affiliation while in post.

Graphical representation

• 
  At election, 7 Mar 2007
• 
  8 May to 29 Nov 2007
• 
  3 Jan 2011 to end

This is not the actual seating plan.

MLAs by party

This is a list of MLAs elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, sorted by party.

Party		Name	Constituency
	Democratic Unionist Party (35)	Sydney Anderson †	Upper Bann
		Jonathan Bell †	Strangford
		Allan Bresland	West Tyrone
		Wallace Browne	Belfast East
		Thomas Buchanan	West Tyrone
		Gregory Campbell	East Londonderry
		Trevor Clarke	South Antrim
		Jonathan Craig	Lagan Valley
		Alex Easton	North Down
		Arlene Foster	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Paul Frew †	North Antrim
		Simpson Gibson †	Strangford
		Paul Girvan †	South Antrim
		Paul Givan †	Lagan Valley
		Simon Hamilton	Strangford
		David Hilditch	East Antrim
		William Humphrey †	Belfast North
		William Irwin	Newry and Armagh
		Nelson McCausland	Belfast North
		Ian McCrea	Mid Ulster
		Michelle McIlveen	Strangford
		Adrian McQuillan	East Londonderry
		Maurice Morrow	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Stephen Moutray	Upper Bann
		Robin Newton	Belfast East
		Ian Paisley	North Antrim
		Edwin Poots	Lagan Valley
		George Robinson	East Londonderry
		Peter Robinson	Belfast East
		Alastair Ross †	East Antrim
		Jimmy Spratt	Belfast South
		Mervyn Storey	North Antrim
		Peter Weir	North Down
		Jim Wells	South Down
		Sammy Wilson	East Antrim
	Sinn Féin (27)	Martina Anderson	Foyle
		Cathal Boylan	Newry and Armagh
		Mickey Brady	Newry and Armagh
		Paul Butler	Lagan Valley
		Carál Ní Chuilín	Belfast North
		Willie Clarke	South Down
		Pat Doherty	West Tyrone
		Michelle Gildernew	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Gerry Kelly	Belfast North
		Billy Leonard †	East Londonderry
		Alex Maskey	Belfast South
		Paul Maskey	Belfast West
		Fra McCann	Belfast West
		Jennifer McCann	Belfast West
		Raymond McCartney	Foyle
		Barry McElduff	West Tyrone
		Claire McGill	West Tyrone
		Martin McGuinness	Mid Ulster
		Daithí McKay	North Antrim
		Mitchel McLaughlin	South Antrim
		Francie Molloy	Mid Ulster
		Conor Murphy	Newry and Armagh
		John O'Dowd	Upper Bann
		Michelle O'Neill	Mid Ulster
		Sue Ramsey	Belfast West
		Caitríona Ruane	South Down
		Pat Sheehan †	Belfast West
	Ulster Unionist Party (16)	Billy Armstrong	Mid Ulster
		Roy Beggs Jr	East Antrim
		Danny Kinahan †	South Antrim
		Fred Cobain	Belfast North
		Robert Coulter	North Antrim
		Leslie Cree	North Down
		Tom Elliott	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Reg Empey	Belfast East
		Sam Gardiner	Upper Bann
		Danny Kennedy	Newry and Armagh
		John McCallister	South Down
		Basil McCrea	Lagan Valley
		Michael McGimpsey	Belfast South
		David McNarry	Strangford
		Ken Robinson	East Antrim
		George Savage	Upper Bann
	Social Democratic and Labour Party (16)	Alex Attwood	Belfast West
		Dominic Bradley	Newry and Armagh
		Mary Bradley	Foyle
		P. J. Bradley	South Down
		Thomas Burns	South Antrim
		John Dallat	East Londonderry
		Pól Callaghan †	Foyle
		Tommy Gallagher	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Conall McDevitt †	Belfast South
		Dolores Kelly	Upper Bann
		Alban Maginness	Belfast North
		Alasdair McDonnell	Belfast South
		Patsy McGlone	Mid Ulster
		Declan O'Loan	North Antrim
		Pat Ramsey	Foyle
		Margaret Ritchie	South Down
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (7)	Stephen Farry	North Down
		David Ford	South Antrim
		Anna Lo	Belfast South
		Chris Lyttle †	Belfast East
		Trevor Lunn	Lagan Valley
		Kieran McCarthy	Strangford
		Sean Neeson	East Antrim
	Green Party of Northern Ireland (1)	Brian Wilson	North Down
	Independent (1)	Kieran Deeny	West Tyrone
	Independent Unionist (3)	Dawn Purvis ‡	Belfast East
		David McClarty ‡	East Londonderry
		Alan McFarland ‡	North Down
	Independent Nationalist (1)	Gerry McHugh ‡	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
	Speaker (1)	William Hay ‡	Foyle

† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA

‡ Changed affiliation during the term

MLAs by constituency

The list is given in alphabetical order by constituency.

Members of the 3rd Northern Ireland Assembly
Constituency	Name	Party
Belfast East	Wallace Browne		Democratic Unionist Party
	Reg Empey		Ulster Unionist Party
	Naomi Long		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Robin Newton		Democratic Unionist Party
	Dawn Purvis ‡		Independent Unionist
	Peter Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast North	Fred Cobain		Ulster Unionist Party
	William Humphrey †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Gerry Kelly		Sinn Féin
	Nelson McCausland		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alban Maginness		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Carál Ní Chuilín		Sinn Féin
Belfast South	Anna Lo		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Alex Maskey		Sinn Féin
	Conall McDevitt †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Alasdair McDonnell		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Michael McGimpsey		Ulster Unionist Party
	Jimmy Spratt		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast West	Alex Attwood		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Fra McCann		Sinn Féin
	Jennifer McCann		Sinn Féin
	Paul Maskey		Sinn Féin
	Sue Ramsey		Sinn Féin
	Pat Sheehan †		Sinn Féin
East Antrim	Roy Beggs, Jr.		Ulster Unionist Party
	Sean Neeson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Hilditch		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alastair Ross †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Ken Robinson		Sinn Féin
	Sammy Wilson		Democratic Unionist Party
East Londonderry	Gregory Campbell		Democratic Unionist Party
	John Dallat		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Billy Leonard †		Sinn Féin
	David McClarty ‡		Independent Unionist
	Adrian McQuillan		Democratic Unionist Party
	George Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Tom Elliott		Ulster Unionist Party
	Arlene Foster		Democratic Unionist Party
	Tommy Gallagher		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Michelle Gildernew		Sinn Féin
	Gerry McHugh ‡		Independent Nationalist
	Maurice Morrow		Democratic Unionist Party
Foyle	Martina Anderson		Sinn Féín
	Mary Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Pól Callaghan †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	William Hay ‡		Speaker
	Raymond McCartney		Sinn Féín
	Pat Ramsey		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Lagan Valley	Paul Butler		Sinn Féin
	Jonathan Craig		Democratic Unionist Party
	Paul Givan †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Trevor Lunn		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Basil McCrea		Ulster Unionist Party
	Edwin Poots		Democratic Unionist Party
Mid Ulster	Billy Armstrong		Ulster Unionist Party
	Ian McCrea		Democratic Unionist Party
	Patsy McGlone		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Martin McGuinness		Sinn Féin
	Francie Molloy		Sinn Féin
	Michelle O'Neill		Sinn Féin
Newry and Armagh	Cathal Boylan		Sinn Féin
	Mickey Brady		Sinn Féin
	Dominic Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	William Irwin		Democratic Unionist Party
	Danny Kennedy		Ulster Unionist Party
	Conor Murphy		Sinn Féin
North Antrim	Robert Coulter		Ulster Unionist Party
	Paul Frew †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Daithí McKay		Sinn Féin
	Declan O'Loan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Ian Paisley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Mervyn Storey		Democratic Unionist Party
North Down	Leslie Cree		Ulster Unionist Party
	Alex Easton		Democratic Unionist Party
	Stephen Farry		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Alan McFarland ‡		Independent Unionist
	Peter Weir		Democratic Unionist Party
	Brian Wilson		Green Party in Northern Ireland
South Antrim	Trevor Clarke		Democratic Unionist Party
	David Ford		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Paul Girvan †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Danny Kinahan †		Ulster Unionist Party
	Thomas Burns		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Mitchel McLaughlin		Sinn Féin
South Down	P. J. Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Willie Clarke		Sinn Féin
	John McCallister		Ulster Unionist Party
	Margaret Ritchie		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Caitríona Ruane		Sinn Féin
	Jim Wells		Democratic Unionist Party
Strangford	Jonathan Bell †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Simon Hamilton		Democratic Unionist Party
	Kieran McCarthy		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Michelle McIlveen		Democratic Unionist Party
	David McNarry		Ulster Unionist Party
	Simpson Gibson †		Democratic Unionist Party
Upper Bann	Sydney Anderson †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Sam Gardiner		Ulster Unionist Party
	Dolores Kelly		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Stephen Moutray		Democratic Unionist Party
	John O'Dowd		Sinn Féin
	George Savage		Ulster Unionist Party
West Tyrone	Allan Bresland		Democratic Unionist Party
	Thomas Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Kieran Deeny		Independent
	Pat Doherty		Sinn Féin
	Claire McGill		Sinn Féin
	Barry McElduff		Sinn Féin

† 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
14 May 2007	East Antrim		DUP	George Dawson	Alastair Ross	George Dawson died.[2]
9 June 2009	South Antrim		UUP	David Burnside	Danny Kinahan	David Burnside resigned.
7 January 2010	East Londonderry		Sinn Féin	Francie Brolly	Billy Leonard	Francie Brolly resigned.[3]
21 January 2010	Belfast South		SDLP	Carmel Hanna	Conall McDevitt	Carmel Hanna resigned.[4]
25 January 2010	Strangford		DUP	Iris Robinson	Jonathan Bell	Iris Robinson resigned.
10 June 2010	Lagan Valley		DUP	Jeffrey Donaldson	Paul Givan	Jeffrey Donaldson resigned to concentrate on his role as a Member of Parliament.
21 June 2010	North Antrim		DUP	Ian Paisley Jr	Paul Frew	Ian Paisley Jr was elected as Member of Parliament for North Antrim in the 2010 general election.[5][6]
1 July 2010	Upper Bann		DUP	David Simpson	Sydney Anderson	David Simpson was elected as Member of Parliament for Upper Bann in the 2010 general election.
1 July 2010	South Antrim		DUP	William McCrea	Paul Girvan	William McCrea resigned to concentrate on his role as a Member of Parliament.
5 July 2010	Belfast East		Alliance	Naomi Long	Chris Lyttle	Naomi Long was elected as Member of Parliament for Belfast East in the 2010 general election.[7]
2 August 2010	Strangford		DUP	Jim Shannon	Simpson Gibson	Jim Shannon was elected as Member of Parliament for Strangford in the 2010 general election.
10 September 2010	Belfast North		DUP	Nigel Dodds	William Humphrey	Nigel Dodds resigned to concentrate on his role as a Member of Parliament.[8][9]
15 November 2010	Foyle		SDLP	Mark Durkan	Pól Callaghan	Mark Durkan resigned to concentrate on his role as a Member of Parliament.
7 December 2010	Belfast West		Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	Pat Sheehan	Gerry Adams resigned to run for Dáil Éireann.

‡ Changes in affiliation

Date	Constituency	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
8 May 2007	Foyle	William Hay		DUP		Speaker	William Hay elected Speaker of the Assembly at its first sitting.
29 November 2007	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Gerry McHugh		Sinn Féin		Ind. Nationalist	Gerry McHugh resigned from Sinn Féin to become an independent nationalist.[10] on 30 November 2009 he announced that he had joined Fianna Fáil.[11] On 3 December 2009, it was reported that even though he was now a member of Fianna Fáil, he would remain an independent member of the Assembly.[12]
31 March 2010	North Down	Alan McFarland		UUP		Ind. Unionist	Alan McFarland resigned from the UUP to become an independent unionist.
3 June 2010	Belfast East	Dawn Purvis		PUP		Ind. Unionist	Dawn Purvis resigned from the PUP to become an independent unionist.
3 January 2011	East Londonderry	David McClarty		UUP		Ind. Unionist	David McClarty resigned from the UUP after being deselected for the 2011 election.[13]

References

1. "Ian Paisley retires as NI Assembly completes historical first full term". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
2. "BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - DUP assembly member Dawson dies". bbc.co.uk. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
3. "Ní Chuilín welcomes Billy Leonard onto the Sinn Féin Assembly Team". sinnfein.ie. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
4. "Conall McDevitt MLA @ O'Conall Street". Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
5. "BBC News - Paisley set to leave NI assembly". bbc.co.uk. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
6. "DUP's Paul Frew to replace Paisley jnr in the Assembly". BBC News. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
7. "Alliance selects Chris Lyttle as new East Belfast MLA". BBC News. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
8. "ITV Hub - The home of ITV". ITV Hub. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
9. "Welcome to the Northern Ireland Assembly". Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
10. "BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - 'Disillusioned' SF man resigns". bbc.co.uk. 3 December 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
11. "nwipp-newspapers.com". Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
12. "Gerry McHugh still independent MLA despite Fianna Fail move". Impartial Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
13. "David McClarty resigns from UUP after being deselected". BBC News. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

External links

• Membership of the Northern Ireland Assembly