Alban Maginness (born 9 July 1950) is a Northern Irish

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

(SDLP) 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 Belfast North from 1998 to 2016.

Early life and education

Maginness was born in

Holywood, County Down Holywood ( ; ) is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a Holywood, County Down (civil parish), civil parish and townland of lying on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor, County ...

. He completed his grammar school education at St. Malachy's College, Belfast. He then attended the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

and

Queen's University of 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 ...

where he undertook legal training. He was called to the Bar in 1984. Whilst at university he became involved in the non-violent protests organised by the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA; ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in 1972 at which British troops killed 14 unarmed civilians. This event, now termed Bloody Sunday, has gone down in Northern Ireland politics as one of the turning points in

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

that contributed to the development of the

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

Political career

Maginness became increasingly involved in politics and became a member of the

. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in East Belfast in the 1975 Constitutional Convention election and North Belfast in the 1982 Assembly election. He has been an elected member of

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and in 1997 he became the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

politician to hold the position of

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

of Belfast. In 1998 he was elected to 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 ...

to represent Belfast North. He was Chair of the SDLP from 1984 to 1991. In November 2008 Maginness had his trademark moustache shaved off for the BBC's ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

''. Maginness was the SDLP candidate for the 2009 European Election. Maginness accused the Secretary of State of interning dissident republican Marian Price without trial, saying "We do not support putting people away in prison because of intelligence or because of some political point of view and we are convinced that she has been detained without trial because of that by the secretary of state." Having served as an MLA for North Belfast from 1998, Maginness decided not to stand for election in 2016. He was replaced by Nichola Mallon.

References

External links

Biography: NI AssemblySDLP Councillor Alban Maginness MLA
Official Website *
Northern Ireland Assembly , AIMS Portal , Plenary Item Details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maginness, Alban 1950 births Living people Members of Belfast City Council Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003 Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 People educated at St Malachy's College Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Ulster University Barristers from Northern Ireland Members of the Bar of Northern Ireland Lord mayors of Belfast People from Holywood, County Down Lawyers from County Down