Peter Weir (politician)
Peter Weir MLA | |
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Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford | |
Assumed office 2 March 2017 | |
Preceded by | Jonathan Bell |
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down | |
In office 25 June 1998 – 26 January 2017 | |
Preceded by | New Creation |
Minister for Education | |
In office 25 May 2016 – 2 March 2017 | |
First Minister | Arlene Foster |
Deputy First Minister | Martin McGuinness |
Preceded by | John O'Dowd |
Succeeded by | Vacant |
Personal details | |
Born |
Bangor, Northern Ireland | 21 November 1968
Nationality | British |
Political party |
DUP (2002-present) UUP (until 2001) |
Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
Profession | Barrister |
Website | Official website |
Peter Weir MLA (born 21 November 1968) is a Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party politician.[1] On 25 May 2016, Weir became the first non-Sinn Féin legislator (following Martin McGuinness, Caitríona Ruane, and John O'Dowd) to head the province's Department of Education since the department came into existence on 2 December 1999.
Career
A past chairman of the Young Unionists (the UUP Youth Wing), Weir is a barrister by profession. He attended Bangor Grammar School and graduated from the Queen's University of Belfast in Law and Accountancy. He was called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1992 and is a former editor of the Ulster Review. Weir has been a member of the Queen's University Senate since 1996 and is also leading member of the University Convocation. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum in 1996 for the constituency of North Down.
Weir refused to support the Belfast Agreement of 1998, saying in one television interview that the only positive comment he could summon for the Agreement was that it was "very nicely typed".[2] A leading critic of then-party leader David Trimble's policies, Weir was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 1998 election.[3]
Weir was selected as his party's candidate to fight the 2001 general election in North Down, but a month before the election tensions between him and the party reached the stage where he was deselected and replaced by Sylvia Hermon. Weir was later expelled from the Ulster Unionist Party for refusing to support the re-election of David Trimble as First Minister of Northern Ireland. Following a period as an Independent Unionist, Weir joined the Democratic Unionist Party in 2002.
Since then, he has been re-elected from North Down at each election for the DUP. In the 2005 Westminster election Weir finally stood for North Down, this time for the DUP, but lost to Sylvia, Lady Hermon of the Ulster Unionist Party.
He is a member of the North Down Borough Council and belongs to the Orange Order and the Royal Black Preceptory. He attends Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church.[4]
References
- ↑ "Weir Peter". Membership of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Northern Ireland Assembly. Archived from the original on 12 September 2004. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ↑ The Long Good Friday, Channel 4 Television, 1999.
- ↑ Brendan Lynn and Martin Melaugh (4 July 2010). "Biographies of Prominent People - 'W' (Weir Pter)". Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
- ↑ "Councillor Peter Weir MLA - North Down DUP (Democratic Unionists)". Nddup.org.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
Northern Ireland Forum | ||
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New forum | Member for North Down 1996–1998 |
Forum dissolved |
Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
New assembly | MLA for North Down 1998–2017 |
Succeeded by Alan Chambers |
Preceded by Jonathan Bell |
MLA for Strangford 2017–present |
Incumbent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by John O'Dowd |
Minister of Education 2016–2017 |
Vacant Office suspended |