Máirtín Ó Muilleoir (born 31 December 1959[1]) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, author, publisher, and businessman, who served as the 70th Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2013 to 2014.[2]
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ó Muilleoir in 2013 | |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South | |
| In office 4 November 2014 – 7 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Alex Maskey |
| Succeeded by | Deirdre Hargey |
| Minister for Finance | |
| In office 12 May 2016 – 7 January 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Mervyn Storey |
| Succeeded by | Conor Murphy |
| 70th Lord Mayor of Belfast | |
| In office 2 June 2013 – 2 June 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Gavin Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Nichola Mallon |
| Member of Belfast City Council | |
| In office 5 May 2011 – 7 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Kirkpatrick |
| Succeeded by | Geraldine McAteer |
| Constituency | Balmoral |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 December 1959 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Spouse | Helen O'Hare |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Profession |
|
Ó Muilleoir's siblings include writer, blogger, and Huffington Post columnist Adrian Millar,[3] and journalist and editor Gerry Millar/Gearóid Ó Muilleoir of The Belfast Telegraph.
Early life and education
editÓ Muilleoir was educated at St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast, and at Queen's University Belfast.[4]
Career
editBusiness career
editIn 1997, Ó Muilleoir became part-owner of the Andersonstown News, which subsequently purchased the New York-based Irish Echo.[4] A fluent Irish speaker,[2] he has interests in other Irish and American businesses.[4] He served as a temporary director of Northern Ireland Water.[5]
Political career
editÓ Muilleoir entered politics in 1985, when he stood as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Upper Falls area and narrowly missed out on being elected.[6]
When Pip Glendinning of the Alliance Party resigned her seat two years later due to the birth of Glendinning's daughter, Ó Muilleoir won the resulting by-election in October 1987. During his time on the council, he initiated a number of legal actions over what he claimed was discrimination by the unionist-dominated council,[4] detailing these experiences in his book, The Dome of Delight.[2]
He was re-elected at the 1989 and 1993 local elections, retiring at the 1997 local elections to concentrate on his business interests.[2] In 1996, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in North Down.[7]
He re-entered politics in 2011, when he was elected as a Belfast City Councillor for Balmoral, South Belfast, gaining the seat previously held by Jim Kirkpatrick of the Democratic Unionist Party, and was elected Lord Mayor in 2013, serving a one-year term.[8]
In 2014, he was co-opted as an MLA into the Northern Ireland Assembly.[9] He stood in Belfast South in the 2015 United Kingdom general election, losing to the Social Democratic and Labour Party incumbent, Alasdair McDonnell.[10] On 12 May 2016, he was appointed Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive.[11] He resigned as an MLA in December 2019,[12] and Deirdre Hargey was co-opted in his place.[13]
References
edit- ^ Profile, niassembly.gov.uk; accessed 10 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is Belfast's new Lord Mayor". The News Letter. 3 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Adrian Millar/Máirtín Ó Muilleoir relation, thewildgeese.irish; accessed 5 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Máirtín Ó Muilleoir – a republican for change". The Belfast Telegraph. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ "Mairtin O'Muilleoir to represent SF in south Belfast". BBC.co.uk. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Belfast city council election results 1985–1989, ARK, accessed 21 June 2013
- ^ 1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in North Down, ark.ac.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.
- ^ Balmoral election results, 1993–2011, ARK.ac.uk; accessed 21 June 2013.
- ^ Profile, belfasttelegraph.co.uk; accessed 17 May 2015.
- ^ Belfast South result, BBC News, accessed 6 July 2016
- ^ Ó Muilleoir is new North finance minister, The Irish Echo, 25 May 2016, accessed 22 January 2017
- ^ "Sinn Fein MLAs Megan Fearon and Máirtín Ó Muilleoir quit Assembly". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Former Sinn Féin lord mayor Deirdre Hargey to replace Máirtín Ó Muilleoir in Assembly seat". The Irish News. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2022.