The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister Ireland .
The post was established after the restoration of the autonomy of Northern Ireland in 1998 . Previously, until 1972 , the post of Prime Minister of Northern Ireland existed. Unlike the latter, who was usually the head of the largest party in parliament, the first minister and the deputy first minister have the same powers and must be approved by both unionist deputies of the Assembly and nationalists [1] .
First, the first ministers were elected by groups of unionist deputies and nationalists, respectively, after which they had to get the approval of the entire Assembly, with the leader of the larger deputy group becoming the first minister. Since 2006, the first ministers are leaders of parties with the largest faction in each group. After that, the Executive branch is formed from representatives of the parties of the first ministers, as well as from other parties that wish to enter there.
During the suspension of the autonomy and activities of the Assembly, the duties of the First Minister and Executive of Northern Ireland are performed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the UK Government .
List of First Ministers and Alternate First Ministers of Northern Ireland
First Ministers
| Name | The consignment | Took office | Left the post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Trimble | Ulster Unionist Party | December 2, 1999 | February 11, 2000 | |
| Autonomy suspended | ||||
| David Trimble | Ulster Unionist Party | May 30, 2000 | June 30, 2001 | |
| Reg Empi (Acting) | Ulster Unionist Party | July 1, 2001 | November 6, 2001 [2] | |
| David Trimble | Ulster Unionist Party | November 6, 2001 | October 14, 2002 | |
| Autonomy suspended | ||||
| Ian paisley | Democratic Unionist Party | May 8, 2007 | June 5, 2008 | |
| Peter Robinson | Democratic Unionist Party | June 5, 2008 | January 11, 2010 | |
| Arlene Foster (Acting [3] ) | Democratic Unionist Party | January 11, 2010 | February 3, 2010 | |
| Peter Robinson | Democratic Unionist Party | February 3, 2010 | September 10, 2015 | |
| Arlene Foster (Acting [3] ) | Democratic Unionist Party | September 10, 2015 | October 20, 2015 | |
| Peter Robinson | Democratic Unionist Party | October 20, 2015 | January 11, 2016 | |
| Arlene Foster | Democratic Unionist Party | January 11, 2016 | January 9, 2017 | |
First Deputy Ministers
| Name | The consignment | Took office | Left the post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seamus mallon | Social Democratic and Labor Party | December 2, 1999 | February 11, 2000 | |
| Autonomy suspended | ||||
| Seamus mallon | Social Democratic and Labor Party | May 30, 2000 | November 6, 2001 [2] | |
| Mark Durcan | Social Democratic and Labor Party | November 6, 2001 | October 14, 2002 | |
| Autonomy suspended | ||||
| Martin McGuinness | Shin Fein | May 8, 2007 | September 20, 2011 | |
| John O'Dowd (Acting [4] ) | Shin Fein | September 20, 2011 | October 31, 2011 | |
| Martin McGuinness | Shin Fein | October 31, 2011 | January 9, 2017 | |
Notes
- β The unionist group in the assembly includes the Democratic Unionist Party , the Ulster Unionist Party and the Progressive Unionist Party , the nationalist group is Shin Fein and the Social Democratic and Labor Party .
- β 1 2 Autonomy was suspended for 24 hours on August 11, 2001 and September 22, 2001
- β 1 2 Peter Robinson officially remained in office
- β Martin McGuinness officially remained in office