Paul Givan

Paul Givan
Givan in 2012
Minister of Education
Assumed office
3 February 2024
Preceded byMichelle McIlveen (2022)
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Lagan Valley
Assumed office
14 June 2010
Preceded byJeffrey Donaldson
Office history
First Minister of Northern Ireland
In office
17 June 2021 – 4 February 2022
Serving with Michelle O'Neill
Preceded byArlene Foster
Succeeded byMichelle O'Neill (2024)
Minister for Communities
In office
25 May 2016 – 26 January 2017
Preceded byLord Morrow
Succeeded byDeirdre Hargey (2020)
Committee history
Chair of the Committee for Justice
In office
14 January 2020 – 14 June 2021
DeputyLinda Dillon
Preceded byPaul Frew (2017)
Succeeded byMervyn Storey
In office
16 May 2011 – 19 December 2014
DeputyRaymond McCartney
Preceded byLord Morrow
Succeeded byAlastair Ross
Chair of the Committee of Standards and Privileges
In office
28 September 2015 – 30 March 2016
DeputyAnna Lo
Preceded byJimmy Spratt
Succeeded byCathal Boylan
Member of
Lisburn City Council
In office
5 May 2005 – 22 May 2014
Preceded byWilliam Lewis
Succeeded byCouncil abolished
ConstituencyLisburn Town North
Personal details
Born
Paul Jonathan Givan

(1981-10-12) 12 October 1981 (age 43)
Lisburn, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Political partyDemocratic Unionist Party
SpouseEmma Givan
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Ulster

Paul Jonathan Givan (born 12 October 1981) is a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he has served as Minister of Education since 3 February 2024.[1] Givan has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley since 2010.

Givan became First Minister on 17 June 2021, becoming the youngest person to hold that office.[2][3][4] He resigned on 4 February 2022 as part of DUP protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol.[4][5] From 2016 to 2017, Givan served as the Minister for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive under First Minister Arlene Foster.

Givan has been associated with socially conservative views and has been described as being on the Paisleyite right wing of the DUP.[6]

  1. ^ "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill makes history as nationalist first minister". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ Kearney, Vincent (17 June 2021). "Givan, O'Neill installed as NI First and Deputy First Ministers". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Paul Givan resigns as NI First Minister". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Carrol, Rory (17 June 2021). "Northern Ireland: Paul Givan becomes first minister after Irish language deal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ^ Young, David; McCambridge, Jonathan; Ryan, Philip (3 January 2022). "DUP's Paul Givan resigns as Northern Ireland first minister, as Taoiseach brands it 'very damaging move'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ Gordon, Gareth (8 June 2021). "Paul Givan: How will the new first minister handle the top job?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.