First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the heads of the Northern Ireland Executive since 1998. For the head of the Northern Irish government from 1921 to 1972, see Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Quick facts for kids First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
Logo of the Executive Office
Incumbent Michelle O'Neill & Emma Little-Pengelly since 3 February 2024
Northern Ireland Executive Executive Office
Member of	Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Executive British–Irish Council PM and Heads of Devolved Governments Council Council of the Nations and Regions
Nominator	Largest political party in each of the two largest community designations within the Northern Ireland Assembly
Precursor	Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1921–1972) Chief and deputy-Chief Executive (1 Jan – 28 May 1974)
Inaugural holder	David Trimble Seamus Mallon
Formation	1 July 1998
Salary	£120,000 each (includes MLA salary)

The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the main leaders of the Northern Ireland government. They work together to lead the Northern Ireland Executive, which is like the government's cabinet. They are also in charge of the Executive Office.

Even though their titles are different, the First Minister and deputy First Minister have the same amount of power. This means they lead the government together, like a team of two. These roles were created in 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement. This agreement helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Originally, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly chose both leaders together. This was done to make sure that both main groups in Northern Ireland, called "Unionists" and "Nationalists," had a say. Later, in 2006, the rules changed. Now, the First Minister is chosen by the largest political party overall. The deputy First Minister is chosen by the largest party from the next biggest community group.

On 17 June 2021, Paul Givan became First Minister and Michelle O'Neill became deputy First Minister. However, Givan resigned on 4 February 2022. This meant O'Neill also stopped being deputy First Minister. The positions were empty until 3 February 2024. Then, Michelle O'Neill became First Minister, and Emma Little-Pengelly from the DUP became deputy First Minister. This was the first time an Irish nationalist held the First Minister role.

What the First Minister and deputy First Minister Do
How They Are Chosen
When the Offices Are Empty
How They Are Called
History of the Roles
First Ministers and deputy First Ministers
- Parties
- Direct Rule First Ministers
Timeline of First Ministers
Timeline of Deputy First Ministers
Images for kids
See also

What the First Minister and deputy First Minister Do

The First Minister and deputy First Minister share all government duties equally. They make decisions together. The First Minister often welcomes official visitors to Northern Ireland. This role is similar to the First Ministers in Scotland and Wales.

Their main jobs include:

Leading meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive together.
Managing and coordinating the government's work.
Handling Northern Ireland's relationships with other countries and regions.

They also decide what topics the Executive will discuss. They can jointly choose "important or debated issues" for the Executive to consider.

Their policy responsibilities cover areas like:

How money is managed (economic policy).
Making sure everyone is treated fairly by the law (equality).
Issues related to the European Union.
Protecting people's basic rights (human rights).
How the government itself works.
Rules for appointing people to public jobs.
Keeping high standards for people in public life.

Two junior ministers help the First Minister and deputy First Minister. They work in the Executive Office. These junior ministers are responsible to both the First Minister and deputy First Minister. Currently, the junior ministers are Aisling Reilly and Pam Cameron.

How They Are Chosen

When the roles were first created in 1998, the First Minister and deputy First Minister were chosen together by the Assembly. This was called a "cross-community vote." It meant that a majority of all members had to agree. Also, a majority of both "Unionist" and "Nationalist" members had to agree. This system was designed so that leaders from both main communities in Northern Ireland would work together.

For these votes, Assembly members were listed as "unionist," "nationalist," or "other."

The rules for choosing them were:

Most members voting had to agree.
Most of the Unionist members voting had to agree.
Most of the Nationalist members voting had to agree.

This method was used in 1999 to choose David Trimble and Seamus Mallon. Later, in 2001, Mark Durkan became deputy First Minister.

After the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, the way they were chosen changed. The new rules are:

The First Minister is chosen by the largest party from the biggest community group.
The deputy First Minister is chosen by the largest party from the second biggest community group.

This new way of choosing leaders was first used in 2007. It allowed the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin to work together. This method was used for Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, and later for Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster with Martin McGuinness or Michelle O'Neill. It was also used for Paul Givan and Michelle O'Neill.

There's also a special rule if the largest party overall is not from the largest community group. In that case:

The First Minister is chosen by the largest party overall.
The deputy First Minister is chosen by the largest party of the largest community group.

This happened in 2024. Sinn Féin became the largest party overall after the 2022 Assembly Election. However, the Unionist parties were still the largest community group.

Today, only the Minister of Justice is chosen by a cross-community vote. Other ministers are chosen by their parties using a system called the D'Hondt method.

When the Offices Are Empty

If the First Minister or deputy First Minister position becomes empty, another minister can take over for up to six weeks.

The offices have been empty several times:

From 2002 to 2007, the government was suspended. During this time, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland took over the responsibilities.
From 2017 to 2020, the offices were also empty.
From February 2022 to February 2024, the offices were vacant again.

How They Are Called

The titles "First Minister and deputy First Minister" are also used in the Irish language. In Ulster Scots, there are a few different ways to say it, like "First Meinister an First Meinister depute."

Sometimes, people write "Deputy" with a capital 'D' and sometimes with a small 'd'. This doesn't change their power. The Good Friday Agreement uses a capital 'D'. However, the law that set up the office uses a small 'd'. This has caused some confusion over the years.

Some people, especially from Sinn Féin, have used terms like "Joint First Minister" or "Co-First Minister." They do this to show that both leaders have equal power and work together. However, these terms are not used in official laws.

History of the Roles

After the Good Friday Agreement was approved in 1998, the Northern Ireland Assembly was set up. Its goal was to take over powers from the UK Parliament. On 1 July 1998, David Trimble (UUP) and Seamus Mallon (SDLP) were chosen as the first First Minister and deputy First Minister. They officially took office on 2 December 1999.

In 2001, Mark Durkan became deputy First Minister after Seamus Mallon retired. The government was suspended from October 2002 to May 2007 because of problems between the parties.

On 8 May 2007, Ian Paisley (DUP) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) became First Minister and deputy First Minister. This followed an agreement between their parties.

Ian Paisley decided to step down in 2008. Peter Robinson then became First Minister on 5 June 2008. Arlene Foster took over from Peter Robinson as First Minister on 11 January 2016.

Arlene Foster resigned in June 2021. Paul Givan was then nominated as First Minister by the DUP. Sinn Féin agreed to renominate Michelle O'Neill as deputy First Minister. However, Givan resigned in February 2022, leading to another period where the offices were empty.

The government was also suspended for short times in 2000, 2001, and from January 2017 to January 2020. During these times, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was in charge.

First Ministers and deputy First Ministers

Parties

Ulster Unionist Party Social Democratic and Labour Party Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin

First Minister of Northern Ireland					Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland					Government	Elections
Name (Birth–Death) Constituency		Portrait	Term of office		Name (Birth–Death) Constituency		Portrait	Term of office		Government	Elections
	David Trimble (1944–2022) Upper Bann		1 July 1998	1 July 2001		Seamus Mallon (1936–2020) Newry and Armagh		1 July 1998	6 November 2001	First Executive	1998
	Reg Empey (b. 1947) Belfast East		1 July 2001 (acting)	6 November 2001		Seamus Mallon (1936–2020) Newry and Armagh		1 July 1998	6 November 2001
	David Trimble (1944–2022) Upper Bann		6 November 2001	14 October 2002		Mark Durkan (b. 1960) Foyle		6 November 2001	14 October 2002
Offices vacant (14 October 2002 – 8 May 2007)
Offices vacant (14 October 2002 – 8 May 2007)											2003
	Ian Paisley (1926–2014) North Antrim		8 May 2007	5 June 2008		Martin McGuinness (1950–2017) Mid Ulster		8 May 2007	20 September 2011	Second Executive	2007
	Peter Robinson (b. 1948) Belfast East		5 June 2008	11 January 2010
	Arlene Foster (b. 1970) Fermanagh and South Tyrone		11 January 2010 (acting)	3 February 2010
	Peter Robinson (b. 1948) Belfast East		3 February 2010	10 September 2015
						John O'Dowd (b. 1967) Upper Bann		20 September 2011 (acting)	31 October 2011	Third Executive	2011
						Martin McGuinness (1950–2017) Mid Ulster		31 October 2011	9 January 2017
	Arlene Foster (b. 1970) Fermanagh and South Tyrone		10 September 2015 (acting)	20 October 2015
	Peter Robinson (b. 1948) Belfast East		20 October 2015	11 January 2016
	Arlene Foster (b. 1970) Fermanagh and South Tyrone		11 January 2016	9 January 2017						Fourth Executive	2016
Offices vacant (9 January 2017 – 11 January 2020)											2016
Offices vacant (9 January 2017 – 11 January 2020)											2017
	Arlene Foster (b. 1970) Fermanagh and South Tyrone		11 January 2020	14 June 2021		Michelle O'Neill (b. 1977) Mid Ulster		11 January 2020	14 June 2021	Fifth Executive
	Paul Givan (b. 1981) Lagan Valley		17 June 2021	4 February 2022		Michelle O'Neill (b. 1977) Mid Ulster		17 June 2021	4 February 2022	Fifth Executive
Offices vacant (4 February 2022 – 3 February 2024)
Offices vacant (4 February 2022 – 3 February 2024)											2022
	Michelle O'Neill (b. 1977) Mid Ulster		3 February 2024	Incumbent		Emma Little-Pengelly (b. 1979) Lagan Valley		3 February 2024	Incumbent	Sixth Executive	2022

Direct Rule First Ministers

When the Northern Ireland government was suspended, the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland took on the duties of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.