Anna Lo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Lo
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Lo in 2014
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| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South |
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| In office 7 March 2007 – 7 May 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Esmond Birnie | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Paula Bradshaw | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born |
Anna Manwah Lo
16 June 1950 British Hong Kong |
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| Died | 6 November 2024 (aged 74) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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| Political party | Alliance | ||||||||||
| Spouses | David Watson (divorced) Gavin Millar (divorced) |
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| Children | 2 | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Ulster | ||||||||||
| Profession | Social worker | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 盧曼華 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卢曼华 | ||||||||||
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Anna Manwah Lo, MBE (born 16 June 1950 – died 6 November 2024) was an important politician in Northern Ireland. She was a member of the Alliance Party. From 2007 to 2016, she was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South. This means she helped make laws for Northern Ireland. She was also once the president of her party.
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Anna Lo's Early Life
Anna Lo was born in North Point, British Hong Kong in 1950. Her parents were Chinese. She went to school in Hong Kong.
In 1974, she moved to Northern Ireland. She had met a journalist named David Watson. When she first arrived, she worked as an interpreter. She helped people communicate by translating between languages. She worked for the BBC and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In 1978, she started an evening class. This class helped Chinese people in Northern Ireland learn English.
Her Political Journey
Anna Lo made history in 2007. She was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South. She was the first politician from an ethnic minority to be elected at a regional level in Northern Ireland. She was also the first politician born in East Asia to be elected to any law-making body in the United Kingdom.
She ran as a candidate for the Alliance Party. After being re-elected in 2011, Anna Lo became the head of the Northern Ireland Assembly's Environment Committee. She used this role to make changes to the Local Government Bill. Thanks to her ideas, new local councils became more open. For example, recordings of important council meetings are now available. Also, council papers are put online for everyone to see. She also made sure that journalists and the public could use social media during meetings. This helped keep the public informed.
In 2014, she was chosen to represent the Alliance Party. She ran in the European Parliament election for Northern Ireland. She received the highest percentage of votes for her party in a European election up to that time.
What Anna Lo Believed In
Anna Lo had strong beliefs about how society should work. She thought that Irish unification was a good idea. This means she believed that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should become one country. She described herself as "anti-colonial." This means she was against countries controlling other countries. She also felt that the division of Ireland was "artificial."
She also called herself a "socialist" and a "republican." In this sense, a socialist believes in fairness and equality for everyone. A republican believes in a government where citizens elect their leaders, rather than having a king or queen.
Her Life Outside Politics and Later Years
Outside of politics, Anna Lo was a social worker. She also used to lead the Northern Ireland Chinese Welfare Association. In 2000, she received an award called an MBE. This award recognized her important work helping ethnic minorities.
From 2007, Anna Lo managed a health condition. She followed a vegetarian diet to help with her illness.
Anna Lo was an atheist, meaning she did not believe in God. She also described herself as a "humanist." Humanists believe in human values and reason. They focus on making the world better through human effort. She supported groups like Humanists UK. In 2015, she was the only politician in Northern Ireland who openly said she was an atheist in a BBC interview. She helped start Northern Ireland Humanists in 2016. She also supported many of their campaigns.
Anna Lo passed away on 6 November 2024, at the age of 74. The leader of the Alliance Party, Naomi Long, said that Anna would always be remembered. She called Anna a "ground-breaker" in politics. She also said Anna's work for the Chinese community, for good relationships between people, and for Belfast was very important.
See also
- European politicians of Chinese descent
