, insignia = NI_Assembly.svg , insigniasize = 135px , insigniacaption = Logo used to represent the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

, image = File:Alex Maskey.jpg , imagesize = 220px , incumbent =

Alex Maskey Alex Maskey (born 8 January 1952) is an Irish politician who has been Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2020 and was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2002 to 2003. He was Sinn Féin's longest s ...

, incumbentsince = 11 January 2020 , previous =

Robin Newton Robin Gray Newton (born 21 December 1945) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2003 to 2022, and was a j ...

, style = Mr. Speaker
(Within the house) , appointer =

(Elected by) , termlength = No limits imposed , formation = 1998 , inaugural =

Lord Alderdice John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice (born 28 March 1955) is a Northern Ireland politician. He was the Speaker and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2004 and 1998 to 2003, respectively. Alderdice ...

July 1, 1998 , website
Office of the Speaker
, body = , salary = £87,000 annually The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly ( ga, Ceann Comhairle) (originally having the title of Presiding Officer) is the presiding officer of the

, elected on a cross-community vote by the

Members 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 ...

. A Principal Deputy Speaker and two deputy speakers are elected to help fulfil the role. The office of Speaker is currently held (since January 2020) by the former MLA for Belfast West

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

. The Office of the Speaker is located in Parliament Buildings, Stormont,

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 ...

. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Assembly Commission, the body corporate of the Assembly, and the Chairman of the Assembly Business Committee.

History

The first person to hold the position was

, appointed by the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

in 1998. Prior to devolution in December 1999 the position was referred to as the Initial Presiding Officer. Alderdice left office in 2004. Eileen Bell held the office of Speaker in the Assembly established under the Northern Ireland Act 2006 which met between May and October 2006 and in the Transitional Assembly established under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 which met between November 2006 and May 2007. Under the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 she was appointed Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007. One of the first items of business for the

on 8 May 2007 was to elect a new Speaker from the

MLAs The Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) was a proposed alternative to the Maxime Faget-invented "tractor" launch escape system (LES) that was planned for use by NASA for its Orion spacecraft in the event an Ares I malfunction during launch requir ...

elected in March 2007. The only nominee was William Hay, DUP member for Foyle and he was elected unopposed. In May 2011 the new position of Principal Deputy Speaker was created. Sinn Féin deputy speaker Francie Molloy was subsequently elected to the new position in June 2011.

Election

During the first meeting of a new Assembly a Speaker is elected. The oldest (by age) Member of the Assembly (''see

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

'') who is not seeking the appointment oversees the election as acting speaker. Nominees are then put forward, seconded and accepted by the nominee. A vote is then taken which must achieve the support of both sides of the house (''

cross-community support A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in ot ...

''). A successful nominee is then deemed elected as Speaker and takes the chair. Upon election the Speaker must relinquish all party political affiliations. The newly or re-elected speaker then oversees the selection of three deputy speakers.

Speakers

Deputy speakers

Current Speaker and deputy speakers

References

External links

Office of the Speaker
{{Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...