Nichola Mallon (born 23 August 1979) is an Irish 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 ...

serving as Deputy Leader of the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP) since 2017. She served as 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 Belfast North from 2016 to 2022 and as

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...

from 2014 to 2015. She was elected as Deputy Leader of the SDLP in 2017. She was appointed Minister for Infrastructure on 11 January 2020, before being removed from office after losing her seat at the 2022 Assembly election.

Early life and career

Nichola Mallon was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1979. Her father was a printer and her mother was a dress-maker. She grew up in the

Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Catholic and Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during The Troubles. Foundation The village of Ardoyne was founded in ...

district of North Belfast. Her family were involved in the trade union movement and she took part in May Day rallies as a girl. She attended Mercy Primary School followed by St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls, where she developed an interest in politics and was attracted to the

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irela ...

. She read Economics and Politics at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and graduated with a BA (Hons), followed by an MA in Comparative Ethnic Conflict from Queen's University Belfast. When she left QUB, she joined the civil service before moving to the General Medical Council and then to a job with the SDLP.

Political career

In 2010 she was co-opted by the SDLP onto

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...

to replace

Alban Maginness Alban may refer to: *Alban (surname) *Alban (given name) * Alban people, Latin people from the city of Alba Longa. *Things or people from or related to Alba (Gaelic for 'Scotland') * Alban wine, a wine of Ancient Rome from Colli Albani * Alban Vi ...

in the

Oldpark (District Electoral Area) Oldpark is one of the nine district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Located in the North of the city, the district elects six members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Ardoyne; Ballysillan; Cliftonville; Lego ...

. In 2014, she won the seat in her own right, polling just under 1,000 first preferences. In 2013, she was appointed a special adviser to the SDLP's Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan, but stood down from that position when elected Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2014. She served as the

from 2014 to 2015, the first female

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

politician to hold the position. She was elected a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast North in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and re-elected in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, increasing the SDLP vote to 5,431 first preferences. On 12 September 2017, Mallon was elected Deputy Leader of the SDLP. She was appointed Minister for Infrastructure on 11 January 2020. She failed to retain her seat at the 2022 Assembly election.

Post-political career

In December 2022, she started a job at Logistics UK, a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

which represents the freight industry.

Personal life

Mallon is married to Brendan Scott and has three children, two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallon, Nichola 1979 births Living people Lord Mayors of Belfast Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Women mayors of places in Northern Ireland People educated at St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls