LORD (WALLACE) BROWNE MLA (DUP)

Lord Browne was educated at Queen’s University Belfast and is a former Lord Mayor of Belfast.  He is Chair of the East Belfast Westminster Association and a member of the DUP’s Central Executive.  He was created a life peer in 2006, giving the party its first representation in the House of Lords.  He was subsequently elected as an MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 for the constituency of Belfast East.  His interests include health, the environment and sport. Lord Browne is a member of the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee and the Committee on Procedures in the Assembly.

SIR REG EMPEY MLA (UUP)

Reg Empey was knighted in 1998 and was elected as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in 2005. Currently representing East Belfast, he has a long history in local government, was twice Lord Mayor of Belfast (getting into party trouble for sharing a platform with then Taoiseach Charles Haughey in 1988) and chaired the Economic Development Committee for the City Council. He was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the 1998-2003 Assembly and served as acting First Minister between July and November 2001.  In May 2006, Empey made a controversial move when he welcomed David Ervine PUP MLA (Belfast East) as a member of Ulster Unionist Party grouping.  Reg is Minister for the Department for Employment and Learning in the Executive.

NAOMI LONG MLA (ALL)

Naomi Long was born and raised in East Belfast. She was educated at Queen's University and is a qualified civil engineer. She joined the Alliance Party in 1994. She was elected to Belfast City Council for the Victoria area in June 2001 and sits on a number of committees and sub-committees. Naomi took over Lord Alderdice's East Belfast seat in 2003, albeit with a heavily reduced vote.  She was elected as Alliance Party Deputy Leader in February 2006.  In 2007 she increased her vote such that she was comfortably elected on the first count and fell only 53 votes short of topping the poll. Naomi is Deputy Chair for the Committee for the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister. Long is Party Spokesperson on Regional Development and OFMDFM issues.

ROBIN NEWTON MLA (DUP)

Before entering politics, Robin Newton was Chief Executive of a management consultancy company.  He is a long-standing member of Belfast City Council and Deputy Chair of the Development committee and a member of the Policy and Resource committee.  Robin has served as Chair of the Waterfront Hall Board and a member of the East Belfast Partnership Board.  He takes particular interest in housing matters, the elderly, health services and employment opportunities.  Robin was elected as an MLA for Belfast East in 2003 and re-elected again in 2007. Robin is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee and the Employment and Learning Committee in the Assembly.

DAWN PURVIS MLA (PUP)

Dawn Purvis worked as a Research Assistant within the School of Human and Health Sciences in the University of Huddersfield and the early part of her career was spent in the Health Service.  Dawn was an Independent member of the Policing Board from 2006-2007.  Purvis took up the Northern Ireland Assembly seat for East Belfast which had become vacant following the death of David Ervine.  She was re-elected in the same constituency at the Assembly Election held on 7 March 2007, polling more first preference votes than her predecessor Ervine did in 2003. Purvis is a member of the Finance and Personnel Committee and the Public Accounts Committee in the Assembly.

PETER ROBINSON MP MLA (DUP)

Peter Robinson was born in Belfast in December 1948. He was educated at Annadale Grammar School and Castlereagh College of Further Education. An estate agent by profession, Peter has been politically active since his teenage years. He married Iris (also an MLA and MP) in 1970. They went on to have three children as well as one of the highest profile political marriages in Northern Irish politics. He is Deputy Leader of the DUP and served intermittently as Minister for Regional Development in the 1998-2003 Assembly. Robinson is Minister for the Department of Finance and Personnel in the Assembly.  

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