Michelle McIlveen
MLA (born 21 January 1971) is a
Unionist politician from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
representing the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
(DUP). She was elected to the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
as a
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
member for
Strangford
Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census.
On the ...
in 2007. She has been General Secretary of the DUP since 2008. She served as
Minister for Education since from June 2021 to October 2022
Early life and education
A native of Newtownards, she attended
Methodist College Belfast
God with us
, established = 1865
, type = Voluntary grammar
, religion = Interdenominational
, principal = Jenny Lendrum
, chair_label = Chairwoman
, chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth
, founder ...
and later
Queen's University, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
, top_free2 =
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, parent = ...
where she took a Master's Degree in Irish Politics and later still a
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...
, the necessary qualification to teach in most parts of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
She taught History and Politics at
Grosvenor Grammar School
Grosvenor Grammar School (formerly Grosvenor High School) is an 11–18 co-educational controlled grammar school and sixth form in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
History
Grosvenor Grammar School was founded in 1945 as Grosvenor Hi ...
in East Belfast for a number of years before entering full-time politics.
Political career
McIlveen was first elected as a councillor to
Ards Borough Council
Ards Borough Council was the local authority of Ards in Northern Ireland. It merged with North Down Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council
North i ...
in 2005. She then became an
MLA for
Strangford
Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census.
On the ...
in 2007, a seat she has held since. Her constituency office is in Comber.
McIlveen became the Junior Minister in the
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
The Executive Office is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive. The ministers with overall responsibility for the department are the Firs ...
on 11 May 2015 until 28 October 2015.
She became the
Minister for Regional Development on 21 September 2015. This post had been held by the
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 movem ...
(UUP) minister
Danny Kennedy until his party withdrew from the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...
, and under the
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
the department was transferred to the DUP. McIlveen was appointed as minister for this department, with
Emma Little-Pengelly
Emma Little-Pengelly (born 31 December 1979) is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician.
She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Laga ...
replacing her as Junior Minister.
McIlveen then served as the
Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs from 2016 until the collapse of the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...
in January 2017.
On 14 June 2021, McIlveen, a former teacher, was appointed as the
Minister for Education by the DUP leader
Edwin Poots
Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...
.
She remained in the post under
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom) ...
's leadership.
DUP profile
dup.org.uk; accessed 14 May 2016.
Notes
References
External links
NI Assembly (MLA Profile)
DUP website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIlveen, Michelle
1971 births
Living people
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Members of Ards Borough Council
Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999)
Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999)
Democratic Unionist Party MLAs
Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016
Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017
Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022
Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
People educated at Methodist College Belfast
Politicians from Belfast
Women ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive
Women councillors in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027