Michelle O'Neill

Michelle O'Neill
O'Neill in 2024
First Minister of Northern Ireland
Assumed office
3 February 2024
Preceded byPaul Givan (2022)
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
In office
11 January 2020 – 4 February 2022[a]
Preceded byMartin McGuinness (2017)
Succeeded byEmma Little-Pengelly (2024)
Vice President of Sinn Féin
Assumed office
10 February 2018
PresidentMary Lou McDonald
Preceded byMary Lou McDonald
Cabinet offices and other roles
2005–2017
Minister of Health
In office
25 May 2016 – 2 March 2017
First MinisterArlene Foster
Preceded bySimon Hamilton
Succeeded byRobin Swann
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
In office
5 May 2011 – 6 May 2016
First MinisterPeter Robinson
Arlene Foster
Preceded byMichelle Gildernew
Succeeded byMichelle McIlveen
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Mid Ulster
Assumed office
7 March 2007
Preceded byGeraldine Dougan
Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone
In office
June 2010 – June 2011
Preceded byFrancie Molloy
Succeeded byKenneth Reid
Member of Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council for Torrent
In office
5 May 2005 – 5 May 2011
Preceded byJim Canning
Succeeded byPádraig Quinn
Personal details
Born
Michelle Doris

(1977-01-10) 10 January 1977 (age 47)
Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
Political partySinn Féin
Spouse
Paddy O'Neill
(m. 1995; sep. 2014)
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website
^a O'Neill left the role of dFM when Arlene Foster resigned as FM on 14 June 2021. She was reappointed dFM alongside FM Paul Givan on 17 June 2021.

Michelle O'Neill (née Doris; born 10 January 1977)[1] is an Irish politician who has been the First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024 and Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018.[2] She has also been the MLA for Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill was previously deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. O'Neill served on the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 to 2011.

In 2007, she was elected to represent Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She served as the first female Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone from 2010 to 2011. She has been serving as Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018. In 2011, she was appointed to the Northern Ireland Executive by deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development. In 2016, she was promoted to Minister of Health.[3][4][5][6][7] In January 2020, she became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland after the New Decade, New Approach agreement restored the power-sharing executive.

O'Neill automatically relinquished her office following Paul Givan's resignation as first minister on 3 February 2022.[8] Sinn Féin became the largest party after the 2022 Assembly election, putting O'Neill in line for the position of First Minister of Northern Ireland; however she did not take up the position until two years later because the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to nominate a deputy First Minister, citing its opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol. On 3 February 2024, O'Neill was appointed First Minister of Northern Ireland. This marked the first time that an Irish nationalist had held the title of First Minister in Northern Ireland.[b]


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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Hughes, Brendan; Fox, Matt (3 February 2024). "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill makes history as nationalist first minister". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ^ "New northern Sinn Féin leader tells both governments to step up to the plate". Sinn Féin. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  4. ^ "We stand for equality, respect and integrity – O'Neill". Sinn Féin. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  5. ^ Moriarty, Gerry (23 January 2017). "Michelle O'Neill takes over as new Sinn Féin leader in North". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Mid Ulster". ARK.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. ^ "The Northern Ireland Assembly". niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  8. ^ Kearney, Vincent (3 February 2022). "Paul Givan resigns as NI First Minister". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.