John Stewart (born 9 April 1983) is an

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

(UUP) politician and businessman who has been a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...

(MLA) for East Antrim since 2017.

Early life and education

Stewart was born on 9 April 1983. He was educated at

Carrickfergus Grammar School Carrickfergus Grammar School is a controlled grammar school situated in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Since opening in 1962 with 60 pupils and 4 teachers, its pupil numbers have increased to just over 800 pupils from ages 11 ...

, a controlled

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, Northern Ireland. He studied history at Cardiff University, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree.

Career

Before his election to the assembly, Stewart worked as the sales director of his family's business, Robinson's Shoemakers, which is based in

. Stewart serves in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

(formally known as the Territorial Army). He is a soldier of the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

Political career

Stewart joined the

(UUP) in 2008. He was elected to

Carrickfergus Borough Council Carrickfergus Borough Council was a district council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid ...

in the 2011 local elections as a councillor for the Knockagh Monument electoral area. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he was elected to the newly created

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council. History On 2 December 2021, the councils chief ex ...

for Carrick Castle. He served as Deputy Mayor of Carrickfergus 2013–14. On 2 March 2017, Stewart was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim in stage 9 of the count. In the 2022 Assembly election he polled 6195 votes and was re-elected after the third count.

Personal life

Stewart is married to Deborah. He has two sons, Cohen and Harrison. He also has 2 office dogs Jaxon and Henry.

References

External links

Northern Ireland Assembly profileUlster Unionist Party profile
1983 births Living people Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Politicians from County Antrim Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Cardiff University British Yeomanry soldiers People from Carrickfergus Members of Carrickfergus Borough Council Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub