The Lord Weir of Ballyholme | |
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Minister for Education | |
In office 11 January 2020 – 13 June 2021 | |
Preceded by | Himself (2017) |
Succeeded by | Michelle McIlveen |
In office 25 May 2016 – 2 March 2017 | |
Preceded by | John O'Dowd |
Succeeded by | Himself (2020) |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 16 November 2022 Life Peerage | |
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford | |
In office 2 March 2017 – 28 March 2022 | |
Preceded by | Jonathan Bell |
Succeeded by | Nick Mathison |
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down | |
In office 25 June 1998 – 26 January 2017 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Member of North Down Borough Council | |
In office 5 May 2005 – 22 May 2014 | |
Preceded by | Patricia Wallace |
Succeeded by | Council abolished |
Constituency | Ballyholme and Groomsport |
Northern Ireland Forum Member for North Down | |
In office 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998 | |
Preceded by | New forum |
Succeeded by | Forum dissolved |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter James Weir 21 November 1968 Bangor, Northern Ireland |
Nationality | British |
Political party | DUP (2002–present) UUP (until 2001) |
Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
Profession | Barrister |
Peter James Weir, Baron Weir of Ballyholme (born 21 November 1968), is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who served as Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2016 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2021.[1] Weir was the first non-Sinn Féin legislator (following Martin McGuinness, Caitríona Ruane, and John O'Dowd) to head the Department of Education since the department came into existence on 2 December 1999.
He served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) from 1998 to 2022, originally being a member for North Down, which he represented from 1998 to 2017, before being elected as a member for Strangford in 2017. He lost his seat at the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. Since 2022 he has been a member of the House of Lords.