Megan Fearon (born 29 July 1991) is an Irish former

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 was

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

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 ...

(MLA) for the Newry and Armagh constituency from June 2012 to January 2020.Sinn Fein to appoint Megan Fearon as Stormont's youngest MLA
BBC News, 26 June 2012 She remains the youngest MLA to have assumed office at the age of 20. She was the party's spokesperson for equality and human rights and was a government minister in the

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 ...

at the age of 24, making her one of the youngest Government ministers in the world.

Career

Fearon was selected by her party to succeed her party colleague Conor Murphy, an abstentionist MP in the

parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

, who had resigned from the Assembly as part of Sinn Féin's policy of abolishing double jobbing. At the time of her selection, Fearon had just completed her last year 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 ...

, where she took a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Before her selection, Fearon had campaigned for Sinn Féin and had worked to raise mental health and drug awareness. She replaced party colleague Chris Hazzard as the youngest MLA. Fearon was a member of the departmental scrutiny committees for Finance, Economy, and the Office of the First and deputy First Minister. She was an advocate for equality, particularly supporting causes like LGBTQIA+ equality, and abortion rights. Fearon served as Chairperson of th
Northern Ireland Assembly Women's Caucus
and was vice-chair of the APG on UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security. Additionally, she served as a member of various other APGs, including those focused on Children and Young People, Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse, and Fair Trade. Fearon was re-elected in the 2016 and 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly elections. In May 2016 it was announced that she was among four Sinn Féin MLAs who would be joining the next Northern Ireland Executive as ministers. In December 2019, Fearon announced that she was stepping down as a Sinn Fein representative and that while she would remain an activist, her time in elected politics was over

References

External links

NI Assembly website profile of Megan Fearon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearon, Megan 1991 births Living people Politicians from County Armagh Sinn Féin MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999)