Robin Newton
| Robin Newton MBE MLA | |
|---|---|
| 5th Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly | |
|
Assumed office 12 May 2016 | |
| Deputy |
Caitríona Ruane (2016–) Patsy McGlone (2016–) Danny Kennedy (2016–) |
| Preceded by | Mitchel McLaughlin |
| Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly | |
|
In office 20 January 2015 – 12 May 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Mitchel McLaughlin |
| Succeeded by | Catriona Ruane |
| Junior minister at the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister | |
|
In office 1 July 2009 – 16 May 2011 Serving with Gerry Kelly | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Donaldson |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Bell |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast East | |
|
Assumed office 26 November 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Sammy Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 December 1945 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Democratic Unionist Party |
| Spouse(s) | Carole |
| Children |
Emma Adam |
| Website | Robin Newton MLA |
Robin Newton is Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland. He is an MLA for East Belfast, and was a junior minister within the Office of First and deputy first minister from 2009 to 2011. Newton is a chief executive of a management consultancy company and a member of the East Belfast Partnership Board, which tries to promote economic development in Belfast. He was later elected speaker on 12 May 2016.
He is married to Carole and has two children.[1]
Political career
Newton was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985 and has been re-elected every election since. Newton is chairman of the Waterfront Hall board. He was elected as a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast in 2003.[2] In the 1998 to 2003 assembly he was the deputy chair of the Development Committee. He takes particular interest in housing matters, the elderly, health services and employment opportunities. Newton is the DUP party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.[3] On May 12, 2016, he was elected Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.[4]
Executive
First minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson announced on 22 June 2009, that Robin Newton would replace Jeffrey Donaldson as junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy first minister at the beginning of the new assembly term in September 2009.[5] This reshuffle took place due to Robinson's plans to phase out "double jobbing" amongst elected representatives. Newton was sworn in as junior minister by the speaker, William Hay, on 1 July 2009, and served until 16 May 2011. As at August 2015, he is a Political Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.[6]
Robin Newton has described the building of a 1,500 tonne platform for the off-shore wind industry by Harland & Wolff as gold medal type engineering, saying, "There can be no doubts this is the type of work that will secure the future for H&W and the workforce. The building of this type of vessel is a tribute to the management and the employees and places the company once again in the world market as engineering technologists."[7]
References
- ↑
- ↑ Robin Newton's official website
- ↑ DUP website
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-36270828
- ↑ DUP reshuffles NI Assembly ministers RTÉ News, 22 June 2009
- ↑ "The Board". Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "Build.IE - Minister Describes H&W Venture As 'World Class'". Build.IE. Build.IE. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Clarke |
High Sheriff of Belfast 1999–2000 |
Succeeded by Tom Campbell |
| Preceded by Jeffrey Donaldson |
Junior Minister 2009–2011 |
Succeeded by Jonathan Bell |
| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
| Preceded by Sammy Wilson |
MLA for Belfast East 2003–present |
Incumbent |