The Northern Ireland Assembly was a legislative assembly set up by the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

on 3 May 1973 to restore

devolved government Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

with the power-sharing

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

made up of unionists and nationalists. It was dissolved in March 1975.

History

The Assembly was created by section 1 of the Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973.

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

were held on 28 June 1973. The

Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 18 July 1973. The act abolished the suspended Parliament of Northern Ireland and the post of Governor and mad ...

, which received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 18 July 1973, abolished the suspended

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

and the post of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and made provision for a devolved administration consisting of an

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

chosen by the Assembly. 108 members were elected by

Single Transferable Vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...

from Northern Ireland's 12 Westminster constituencies, with 5 to 8 seats for each depending on its population. The Assembly met for the first time on 31 July 1973. It elected Nat Minford as its speaker in a chaotic first session. Following the

Sunningdale Agreement The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The agreement was signed by the British and Irish government in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1 ...

, a power-sharing Executive was established from 1 January 1974. After opposition from within the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

(UUP) and the

Ulster Workers' Council strike The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by Unionism in Ireland, unionists who were against the Sunningdale Ag ...

over the proposal of an all Ireland council, the Executive and Assembly collapsed on 28 May 1974 when

Brian Faulkner Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the Chief Executive ...

resigned as Chief Executive. The Assembly was prorogued the following day, but continued to exist in abeyance until formally dissolved on 28 March 1975, via an Order in Council made under the

Northern Ireland Act 1974 The Northern Ireland Act 1974 (c. 28) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the government of Northern Ireland following the collapse of the Sunningdale Agreement. The act authorised the dissolution of the No ...

Members of the Northern Ireland Executive (1974)

Legislation passed

The Assembly had powers to pass primary legislation known as Assembly Measures. Four such measures were passed by the assembly:

References

External links

Conflict Archive - University of Ulster
Government of Northern Ireland The Troubles (Northern Ireland) 1973 establishments in Northern Ireland 1974 disestablishments in Northern Ireland {{Ireland-hist-stub

History

Members of the Northern Ireland Executive (1974)

Legislation passed

See also

References

External links