Alastair Ross (born 4 March 1981) is a British electoral officer and former

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(DUP) politician who was a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ; ) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members – five from each of 18 constituencies, the boundaries o ...

(MLA) for East Antrim from 2007 to

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Background

Ross studied at Friends' School in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

and at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

before returning to study Irish Politics at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. While there, he became a

(DUP) activist. In 2005, he began working for Sammy Wilson as a parliamentary researcher, following a spell in DUP headquarters as a press officer in the lead-up and during the 2005 general election. For the

2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two ...

, he was the campaign manager for the party's three candidates in East Antrim, all of whom were elected. Alastair Ross served in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2007 until its collapse in 2017. He was re-elected in 2011 and 2016. Ross was a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...

in the Executive Office of the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. He previously served on the Northern Ireland Policing Board, as well as being Chairman of the Assembly Committees for Justice, Standards and Privileges, as well as the ad hoc Ctte for the Mental Capacity Bill. He also served on the Environment, Education, Justice, Regional Development, Employment and Learning, and the ad hoc Committee on Sexual Offences Committees. He was a member of the management committee of

Lisnagarvey Hockey Club Lisnagarvey Hockey Club is a field hockey club based in Hillsborough, County Down, Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1901 and was originally based in Lisburn. The club was named after Lisnagarvey, the townland that eventually expanded ...

. His predecessor George Dawson, was one of the three DUP MLAs in East Antrim, and died shortly after the election. Ross was nominated by a closed list submitted by Dawson as his replacement. Ross was described by the Belfast Newsletter as being "an unusually free-thinking DUP member with libertarian views" and was a regular media performer for the Party. In 2017, he announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election to the 2017 Assembly elections and will be quitting politics completely."DUP MLA Ross announces decision to quit politics"
Belfast Telegraph 24 January 2017 Following his retirement from politics, Ross was appointed by the UK Parliament as one of ten UK Electoral Commissioners.

References

External links

DUP selects Dawson replacement

Official website

Northern Ireland Assembly official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Alastair Ian 1981 births Living people People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn Alumni of the University of Dundee Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999) Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017