Simon Hamilton (born 17 March 1977) is a former Unionist politician from

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

representing the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by ...

(DUP). Hamilton was a

Member 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 ...

(MLA) for Strangford from 2007 to 2019; Hamilton also served as the Economy Minister in the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the t ...

from 2016 until its collapse in January 2017.

Education

Hamilton was educated at Regent House School and

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

holding degrees in history/politics and law. He served as Chairman of the Queen's Unionist Association and as a member of Queen's University Senate.

Career

Hamilton began his career as an

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

with an accountancy firm in

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 Kingd ...

and was employed as a DUP Policy Officer in their Party Headquarters from 2003 until his election to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007. He was elected to Ards Borough Council in 2005 but did not stand at the 2011 Election. Hamilton is secretary of Strangford DUP Association and vice-chairman of Newtownards DUP Branch. He was appointed minister of finance and personnel and replaced Sammy Wilson on 29 June 2013 in a reshuffle. He was later appointed as the Health Minister of Northern Ireland in a further DUP reshuffle on 11 May 2015. He resigned from this post several times during September and October 2015 in the context of a political crisis at Stormont. In June 2019, Hamilton announced he was standing down from front line politics to become

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

of Belfast

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

. He also resigned from the DUP to take this role.

References

1977 births Living people People from Newtownards Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999) Members of Ards Borough Council Ministers of Finance and Personnel of Northern Ireland {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub