Caoimhe Archibald (born 20 February 1981) is an Irish

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

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who has served as the Minister for the Economy in

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 ...

since February 2025. She previously served as Minister for Finance, and has been 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 Londonderry since May 2016.

Biography

Archibald is a native of

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

where she attended Loreto College. She proceeded to

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 ...

where she obtained a BSc and PhD in molecular

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

. She then worked for an agri-food company in Dublin.

Political career

She unsuccessfully stood for election in the East Londonderry Westminster constituency at the 2015 UK general election, polling 6,859 votes, equating to 19.8% of the total vote. She was elected as an MLA at the

2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election (representing ...

, to represent the East Derry constituency. She won the seat from her party running mate Cathal Ó hOisín. She was re-elected in 2017 and 2022. In February 2024, she was appointed as Minister for Finance in the newly formed

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 ...

. In February 2025, as part of a

ministerial reshuffle, she replaced

Conor Murphy Conor Terence Murphy (born 10 July 1963) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, who has served as a senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel since January 2025. He previously served as Minister for the Economy of Northern Ireland from 2024 ...

as Minister for the Economy, after he was elected to the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

. Archibald is a founding member of the Sinn Féin Manchester United Supporters Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, Caoimhe 1982 births Irish women scientists Living people People from Coleraine, County Londonderry Sinn Féin MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish pathologists Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Politicians from County Londonderry Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999) Women ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive Female finance ministers Ministers of finance and personnel of Northern Ireland