Chris Lyttle (born 19 January 1981) is an

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assemb ...

politician who was a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) for Belfast East from 2010 to 2022. He succeeded Naomi Long as Alliance Party MLA for Belfast East on 5 July 2010 and was elected to serve the constituency for another term on 7 May 2011, then again in 2016 and 2017. Lyttle retired at the 2022 Assembly Election.

Early life and career

Born and raised 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 Kingd ...

, Lyttle attended Belmont and Strandtown Primary Schools, Sullivan, and

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 he received a First Class Honours Degree in Government and Politics. Lyttle was awarded a Helen Ramsey Turtle Scholarship for Conflict Management study at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

and a Frank Knox Fellowship for postgraduate training in Public Policy & Administration at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He is also an alumnus of the

Washington Ireland Program The Washington-Ireland Program for Service and Leadership (WIP) is a six-month program of personal and professional development that brings university students from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Washington, DC for summer interns ...

. Lyttle's professional experience includes work as Northern Ireland Assembly Constituency & Research Assistant to Alliance Party Deputy Leader, Naomi Long. He is known for his service to community organisations, business owners and other groups on a wide range of issues such as; housing, education, health, planning, employment and community safety. He has also served as Deputy Chair of the East Belfast District Policing Partnership and is a qualified

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

UEFA B Licence and Disability Football Coach, and is an active member of his local church.

Political career

Lyttle was Deputy Chair of the Assembly Committee with responsibility for the scrutiny of the policy of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. These include the Programme for Government, the Investment Strategy, Community Relations, Social Investment, Equality, Community Development, Children & Young People and Older People. Since May 2016, he has been vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Education. Lyttle chairs the All Party Group (APG) on Cycling and the APG on Children and Young People, as well as vice chairs the APG on Postal Issues. He is a member of the following APG groups: Fairtrade, International Development, Trade Unions, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Football, Heart Disease & Stroke, Science and Technology, Human Trafficking, Rugby, UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security, Learning Disability, Cancer, Visual Impairment, Autism, Community and Voluntary Sector, and Ethnic Minority Communities. On 29 October 2021, Lyttle announced that he would be stepping down at the 2022 Assembly election.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttle, Chris 1981 births Living people Politicians from Belfast Harvard University alumni Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alliance Party of Northern Ireland MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027