Stephen Ronald Aiken is a politician, who serves 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 South Antrim for 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). Roles served include that of Chief Whip (2017-2019) and Party Leader (2019–21). Aiken has been an MLA since

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Early life and education

Aiken was born in South Antrim, attended Thompson Primary School, Ballyrobert, and then was educated at

Belfast High School Belfast High School (BHS) is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was established in 1854 and is within the North Eastern Region of the Education Authority. In May 2007, ...

. He joined the Sea Cadets in 1982 based at

HMS Caroline (1914) HMS ''Caroline'' is a decommissioned light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw combat service in the First World War and served as an administrative centre in the Second World War. ''Caroline'' was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the ...

, which remains in its original dock as a Museum Ship. During his naval career he undertook further study and holds a PhD and MPhil in International Relations from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge, with his thesis research on India and its growing military power. He also has a MA in Defence Studies from the Department of Defence Studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Military career

Aiken served for 32 years in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as a submariner, ultimately in many senior operational roles, including commanding two nuclear-powered submarines, being Joint Plans Officer for operations in the Middle-East in 2002-04 (for which he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE)). At the end of his service in the Royal Navy, he became the founding CEO of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, a post he held for three years during which time he lived in Dublin with his family.

Political career

When Robin Swann MLA announced his sudden resignation as leader of the

in 2019, Aiken stood for the leadership. He was elected unopposed as leader in November 2019 and led the party through difficult periods addressing concerns about Brexit, the Protocol and pandemic. He promptly opted for the UUP to take the Ministry of Health Department, when no other party would take it, and appointed Mr Swann MLA as Minister. He announced his resignation as leader eighteen months later because he held a firm position that the Chief Constable needed to resign in 2021. In October 2021 Aiken was reselected to be a UUP candidate for South Antrim in the

2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months ...

. He was reelected in the May 2022 poll and, despite the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly since February 2022, he continues to serve the people of South Antrim and remains the Party Spokesperson on the Northern Ireland Protocol and Finance, in addition to his private consulting business.

References

External links

Northern Ireland Assembly profileUlster Unionist Party profile
1962 births Living people Royal Navy officers People educated at Belfast High School Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Officers of the Order of the British Empire Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 Leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub