Nigel Dodds

The Right Honourable The Lord Dodds of Duncairn OBE PC
Official portrait, 2017
Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in the House of Lords
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 June 2021
Leader	Jeffrey Donaldson Gavin Robinson
Preceded by	Office established
Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party
In office 31 May 2008 – 28 May 2021
Leader	Peter Robinson Arlene Foster
Preceded by	Peter Robinson
Succeeded by	Paula Bradley
Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in the House of Commons
In office 6 May 2010 – 13 December 2019
Leader	Peter Robinson Arlene Foster
Preceded by	Peter Robinson
Succeeded by	Jeffrey Donaldson
Ministerial offices Minister of Finance and Personnel In office 5 June 2008 – 1 July 2009 First Minister Peter Robinson Preceded by Peter Robinson Succeeded by Sammy Wilson Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment In office 8 May 2007 – 5 June 2008 First Minister Ian Paisley Peter Robinson Preceded by Reg Empey Succeeded by Arlene Foster Minister for Social Development In office 24 October 2001 – 14 October 2002 First Minister Reg Empey (acting) David Trimble Preceded by Maurice Morrow Succeeded by Margaret Ritchie In office 21 November 1999 – 27 July 2000 First Minister David Trimble Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Maurice Morrow
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 19 October 2020 Member of Parliament for Belfast North In office 7 June 2001 – 6 November 2019 Preceded by Cecil Walker Succeeded by John Finucane Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast North In office 25 June 1998 – 10 September 2010 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by William Humphrey Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Belfast North In office 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998
Local government offices 45th and 48th Lord Mayor of Belfast In office 1 June 1991 – 1 June 1992 Preceded by Fred Cobain Succeeded by Herbert Ditty In office 1 June 1988 – 1 June 1989 Preceded by J.J. Dixon Gilmore Succeeded by Reg Empey Member of Belfast City Council In office 15 May 1985 – 5 May 2011 Preceded by District created Succeeded by Lydia Patterson Constituency Castle
Personal details
Born	Nigel Alexander Dodds (1958-08-20) 20 August 1958 (age 66) Derry, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Democratic Unionist Party
Spouse	Diane Dodds
Children	3
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge Queen's University of Belfast
Profession	Politician
Website	Official website

Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, OBE, PC (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as deputy leader of the DUP from 2008 to 2021 and leader of the DUP in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019.

Born in Derry and raised in County Fermanagh, Dodds originally practised as a barrister. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and served as General Secretary of the DUP from 1993 to 2008. Dodds served as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010. He served in three ministerial portfolios in the Northern Ireland Executive, lastly as Minister of Finance and Personnel from 2008 to 2009, a position he assumed shortly after he became Deputy Leader.

He became Member of Parliament for the Belfast North constituency at the 2001 UK general election and served in that role until he was defeated by John Finucane of Sinn Féin in 2019. In July 2020, he was nominated for a peerage in the House of Lords and announced in September 2020 that he would take the title Lord Dodds of Duncairn.