2nd Northern Ireland Assembly

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.

2nd Northern Ireland Assembly
← 1st Assembly 3rd Assembly →
Overview
Legislative body	Assembly
Jurisdiction	Northern Ireland
Meeting place	Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Term	15 May 2006 – 29 January 2007
Election	2003 assembly election
Government	Executive of the 2nd Assembly (Direct Rule)
Members	108
Speaker	Eileen Bell
Sessions
1st 15 May 2006 – 7 July 2006 2nd 11 September 2006 – 3 October 2006 3rd 24 November 2006 – 29 January 2007

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

1. While in post, the Speaker is not counted as a member of their parliamentary party.
2. 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.

Graphical representation

• 
  At election, 26 Nov 2003 (Suspended Northern Ireland Assembly)
• 
  10 Apr to 25 Sep 2006 (Suspended Northern Ireland Assembly and Assembly est. under the Northern Ireland Act 2006),
• 
  25 Sep 2006 to 15 Jan 2007 (Suspended Northern Ireland Assembly and Transitional Assembly)
• 
  2 Feb 2007 to end (Suspended Northern Ireland Assembly)

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.

Party		Name	Constituency
	Democratic Unionist Party (32)	Norah Beare ‡	Lagan Valley
		Thomas Buchanan	West Tyrone
		Gregory Campbell	East Londonderry
		Wilson Clyde	South Antrim
		George Dawson	East Antrim
		Diane Dodds	Belfast West
		Nigel Dodds	Belfast North
		Jeffrey Donaldson ‡	Lagan Valley
		Alex Easton	North Down
		George Ennis	Strangford
		Arlene Foster ‡	Fermanagh & South Tyrone
		Paul Girvan	South Antrim
		William Hay	Foyle
		David Hilditch	East Antrim
		Nelson McCausland	Belfast North
		William McCrea	Mid Ulster
		Lord Morrow	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Stephen Moutray	Upper Bann
		Robin Newton	Belfast East
		Ian Paisley	North Antrim
		Ian Paisley Jr.	North Antrim
		Edwin Poots	Lagan Valley
		George Robinson	East Londonderry
		Iris Robinson	Strangford
		Mark Robinson	Belfast South
		Peter Robinson	Belfast East
		Jim Shannon	Strangford
		David Simpson	Upper Bann
		Mervyn Storey	North Antrim
		Peter Weir	North Down
		Jim Wells	South Down
		Sammy Wilson	East Antrim
	Ulster Unionist Party (24)	Billy Armstrong	Mid Ulster
		Roy Beggs, Jr.	East Antrim
		Billy Bell	Lagan Valley
		Esmond Birnie	South Belfast
		David Burnside	South Antrim
		Fred Cobain	Belfast North
		Michael Copeland	Belfast East
		Robert Coulter	North Antrim
		Leslie Cree	North Down
		Tom Elliott	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Reg Empey	Belfast East
		Sam Gardiner	Upper Bann
		Norman Hillis	East Londonderry
		Derek Hussey	West Tyrone
		Danny Kennedy	Newry and Armagh
		David McClarty	East Londonderry
		Alan McFarland	North Down
		Michael McGimpsey	Belfast South
		David McNarry	Strangford
		Dermot Nesbitt	South Down
		Ken Robinson	East Antrim
		John Taylor	Strangford
		David Trimble	Upper Bann
		Jim Wilson	South Antrim
	Sinn Féin (22)	Gerry Adams	Belfast West
		Francie Brolly	East Londonderry
		Willie Clarke	South Down
		Pat Doherty	West Tyrone
		Michelle Gildernew	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Gerry Kelly	Belfast North
		Alex Maskey	Belfast South
		Fra McCann	Belfast West
		Raymond McCartney †	Foyle
		Barry McElduff	West Tyrone
		Philip McGuigan	North Antrim
		Martin McGuinness	Mid Ulster
		Mitchel McLaughlin	Foyle
		Francie Molloy	Mid Ulster
		Conor Murphy	Newry and Armagh
		John O'Dowd	Upper Bann
		Patricia O'Rawe	Newry and Armagh
		Tom O'Reilly	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Sue Ramsey †	Belfast West
		Caitríona Ruane	South Down
		Kathy Stanton	Belfast North
		Vacant[n 1]	Belfast West
	Social Democratic and Labour Party (18)	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
		Mark Durkan	Foyle
		Sean Farren	North Antrim
		Marietta Farrell †	Lagan Valley
		Tommy Gallagher	Fermanagh and South Tyrone
		Carmel Hanna	Belfast South
		Dolores Kelly	Upper Bann
		Alban Maginness	Belfast North
		Alasdair McDonnell	Belfast South
		Patsy McGlone	Mid Ulster
		Eugene McMenamin	West Tyrone
		Pat Ramsey	Foyle
		Margaret Ritchie	South Down
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (5)	Seamus Close	Lagan Valley
		David Ford	South Antrim
		Naomi Long	East Belfast
		Kieran McCarthy	Strangford
		Seán Neeson	East Antrim
	Progressive Unionist Party (1)	Dawn Purvis †	Belfast East
	UK Unionist Party (1)	Robert McCartney	North Down
	Independent (1)	Kieran Deeny	West Tyrone
	Independent Unionist (1)	Paul Berry ‡	Newry and Armagh
	Independent Nationalist (2)	Geraldine Dougan ‡	Mid Ulster
		Davy Hyland ‡	Newry and Armagh
	Speaker (1)	Eileen Bell ‡	North Down

† 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 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly
Constituency	Name	Party
Belfast East	Michael Copeland		Ulster Unionist Party
	Reg Empey		Ulster Unionist Party
	Naomi Long		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Robin Newton		Democratic Unionist Party
	Dawn Purvis †		Progressive Unionist Party
	Peter Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast North	Fred Cobain		Ulster Unionist Party
	Nigel Dodds		Democratic Unionist Party
	Gerry Kelly		Sinn Féin
	Nelson McCausland		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alban Maginness		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Kathy Stanton		Sinn Féin
Belfast South	Carmel Hanna		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Esmond Birnie		Ulster Unionist Party
	Alex Maskey		Sinn Féin
	Alasdair McDonnell		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Michael McGimpsey		Ulster Unionist Party
	Mark Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast West	Gerry Adams		Sinn Féin
	Alex Attwood		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Diane Dodds		Democratic Unionist Party
	Fra McCann		Sinn Féin
	Sue Ramsey †		Sinn Féin
	Vacant[n 1]		Sinn Féin
East Antrim	Roy Beggs, Jr.		Ulster Unionist Party
	Sean Neeson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Hilditch		Democratic Unionist Party
	George Dawson		Democratic Unionist Party
	Ken Robinson		Ulster Unionist Party
	Sammy Wilson		Democratic Unionist Party
East Londonderry	Francis Brolly		Sinn Féin
	Gregory Campbell		Democratic Unionist Party
	John Dallat		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Norman Hillis		Ulster Unionist Party
	David McClarty		Ulster 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
	Tom O'Reilly		Sinn Féin
	Maurice Morrow		Democratic Unionist Party
Foyle	Mary Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Mark Durkan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	William Hay		Democratic Unionist Party
	Raymond McCartney †		Sinn Féín
	Mitchel McLaughlin		Sinn Féín
	Pat Ramsey		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Lagan Valley	Norah Beare ‡		Democratic Unionist Party
	Billy Bell		Ulster Unionist Party
	Seamus Close		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Jeffrey Donaldson ‡		Democratic Unionist Party
	Marietta Farrell †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Edwin Poots		Democratic Unionist Party
Mid Ulster	Billy Armstrong		Ulster Unionist Party
	Geraldine Dougan ‡		Independent Nationalist
	William McCrea		Democratic Unionist Party
	Patsy McGlone		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Martin McGuinness		Sinn Féin
	Francie Molloy		Sinn Féin
Newry and Armagh	Paul Berry ‡		Independent Unionist
	Dominic Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Davy Hyland ‡		Independent Nationalist
	Danny Kennedy		Ulster Unionist Party
	Conor Murphy		Sinn Féin
	Patricia O'Rawe		Sinn Féin
North Antrim	Robert Coulter		Ulster Unionist Party
	Sean Farren		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Philip McGuigan		Sinn Féin
	Ian Paisley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Ian Paisley Jr		Democratic Unionist Party
	Mervyn Storey		Democratic Unionist Party
North Down	Eileen Bell ‡		Speaker
	Leslie Cree		Ulster Unionist Party
	Alex Easton		Democratic Unionist Party
	Robert McCartney		UK Unionist Party
	Alan McFarland		Ulster Unionist Party
	Peter Weir		Democratic Unionist Party
South Antrim	David Burnside		Ulster Unionist Party
	Trevor Clarke		Democratic Unionist Party
	David Ford		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Paul Girvan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Thomas Burns		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Jim Wilson		Ulster Unionist Party
South Down	P. J. Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Willie Clarke		Sinn Féin
	Dermot Nesbitt		Ulster Unionist Party
	Margaret Ritchie		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Caitríona Ruane		Sinn Féin
	Jim Wells		Democratic Unionist Party
Strangford	George Ennis		Democratic Unionist Party
	Kieran McCarthy		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David McNarry		Ulster Unionist Party
	Iris Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
	Jim Shannon		Democratic Unionist Party
	John Taylor		Ulster Unionist Party
Upper Bann	Sam Gardiner		Ulster Unionist Party
	Dolores Kelly		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Stephen Moutray		Democratic Unionist Party
	John O'Dowd		Sinn Féin
	David Simpson		Democratic Unionist Party
	David Trimble		Ulster Unionist Party
West Tyrone	Thomas Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Kieran Deeny		Independent
	Pat Doherty		Sinn Féin
	Derek Hussey		Ulster Unionist Party
	Barry McElduff		Sinn Féin
	Eugene McMenamin		Social Democratic and Labour Party

† 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		Sinn Féin	Mary Nelis	Raymond McCartney	Resignation of Mary Nelis.[4]
29 November 2004	Belfast West		Sinn Féin	Bairbre de Brún	Sue Ramsey	Resignation of Bairbre de Brún.[5]
25 September 2006	Belfast West		Sinn Féin	Michael Ferguson	Vacant	Death of Michael Ferguson.[6] The vacancy remained unfilled on the dissolution of the Assembly.
9 January 2007	Lagan Valley		SDLP	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		PUP	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		UUP		Ind. Unionist	Jeffrey Donaldson resigned from the UUP.[7]
18 December 2003	Lagan Valley	Norah Beare		UUP		Ind. Unionist	Norah Beare resigned from the UUP.[7]
18 December 2003	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Arlene Foster		UUP		Ind. Unionist	Arlene Foster resigned from the UUP.[7]
5 January 2004	Lagan Valley	Jeffrey Donaldson		Ind. Unionist		DUP	Jeffrey Donaldson joined the DUP.[8]
5 January 2004	Lagan Valley	Norah Beare		Ind. Unionist		DUP	Norah Beare joined the DUP.[8]
5 January 2004	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Arlene Foster		Ind. Unionist		DUP	Arlene Foster joined the DUP.[8]
4 July 2005	Newry and Armagh	Paul Berry		DUP		Ind. Unionist	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		Sinn Féin		Ind. Nationalist	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		Alliance		Speaker	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		Sinn Féin		Ind. Nationalist	Geraldine Dougan resigned from Sinn Féin.
2 February 2007	Newry and Armagh	Davy Hyland		Sinn Féin		Ind. Nationalist	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

Notes

1. 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.