Anna Lo
AllianceBelfast South
Lo was born in Hong Kong and moved to Northern Ireland in 1974. She qualified as a social worker from the University of Ulster and later spent many years working in health and social services. She was a founder member of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities and was a Commissioner on the first Equality Commission for Northern Ireland established under the Northern Ireland Act of 1998. The mother of two is also a former Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Chinese Welfare Association.
Anna Lo made history by becoming the first person from an ethnic minority to be elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007. She is also the first ethnic-Chinese person to be elected to a legislature anywhere in Europe.
In the 2011 Assembly elections, Lo was successfully re-elected as an MLA for Belfast South, topping the poll by gaining 6,390 first preference votes. Lo was appointed Chair of the Environment Committee in May 2011. She also sits on the Audit Committee.