Robin Gray Newton (born 21 December 1945) 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 (DUP). He was 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 Belfast from 2003 to 2022, and was a 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 ...

from 2009 to 2011. Newton is a chief executive of a management consultancy company and a member of the East Belfast Partnership Board, which promotes economic development in East

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 Kingdo ...

. He served as

Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly , insignia = NI_Assembly.svg , insigniasize = 135px , insigniacaption = Logo used to represent the Northern Ireland Assembly , image = File:Alex Maskey.jpg , imagesize = 220px , incumbent = Alex Maskey , incumbentsince = 11 January 2020 , ...

from 12 May 2016 until 11 January 2020. He and his wife Carole have two children.

Political career

Newton was first elected to

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 ...

in 1985. Newton is chairman of the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

board. He was an unsuccessful candidate in East Belfast in the 1996

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

election. He was elected as a DUP member of 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 ...

for East Belfast in 2003. After the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was the deputy chair of the Development Committee. He takes particular interest in housing matters, the elderly, health services and employment opportunities. Newton is the DUP party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. On 12 May 2016 he was elected

. In 2022, Newton was deselected as a DUP candidate and as a result will not contest the 2022 Assembly election.

Executive

First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson announced on 22 June 2009 that Robin Newton would replace

Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997, and lead ...

as junior minister in the

at the beginning of the new assembly term in September 2009. This reshuffle took place due to Robinson's plans to phase out "double jobbing" amongst elected representatives. Newton was sworn in as junior minister by the speaker, William Hay, on 1 July 2009, and served until 16 May 2011. From 2011 until 2012, he was a Political Member of the

Northern Ireland Policing Board The Northern Ireland Policing Board ( ga, Bord Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Polisin Boord'') is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Nor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Robin High Sheriffs of Belfast Living people Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999) Members of Belfast City Council Place of birth missing (living people) 1945 births Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Politicians from Belfast Speakers of the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022