Michelle Gildernew facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michelle Gildernew
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Official portrait, 2014
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| Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development | |
| In office 8 May 2007 – 4 May 2011 |
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| First Minister | |
| Preceded by | Bríd Rodgers |
| Succeeded by | Michelle O'Neill |
| Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
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| In office 8 June 2017 – 30 May 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Elliot |
| Succeeded by | Pat Cullen |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Ken Maginnis |
| Succeeded by | Tom Elliott |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
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| In office 5 May 2016 – 9 June 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Bronwyn McGahan |
| Succeeded by | Colm Gildernew |
| In office 25 June 1998 – 1 July 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Bronwyn McGahan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 March 1970 Dungannon, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Spouse | Jimmy Taggart |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Colm Gildernew (brother) |
| Alma mater | University of Ulster |
Michelle Angela Gildernew (born March 28, 1970) is an Irish politician from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She is a member of the Sinn Féin political party.
She served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. She held this role from 2017 to 2024. Before that, she was an MP for the same area from 2001 to 2015.
Michelle Gildernew was also a Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development. This was part of the Northern Ireland Executive, which is the government of Northern Ireland. She was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA). She represented Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1998 to 2012. She was re-elected as an MLA in 2016 and 2017.
In 2017, she won her Westminster seat back from Tom Elliott. He was from the Ulster Unionist Party. In 2019, she won her election again by a very small number of votes. It was the smallest winning margin in the whole UK.
Michelle Gildernew is the spokesperson for health for Sinn Féin. She has also been a member of the party's Ard Chomhairle. This is the party's main national executive committee.
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Early Life and School
Michelle Gildernew was born in Dungannon, a town in Northern Ireland. She went to St Catherine's College Armagh for her schooling. Later, she studied at the University of Ulster in Coleraine.
After finishing university, she traveled a lot. She visited many countries in Europe, the United States, and Australia. She even worked in Australia for a year.
Her family comes from a farm in County Tyrone. They have a history of being involved in Irish politics. In the 1960s, her family were important figures in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. They took part in a protest in 1968 about unfair housing rules.
Becoming a Politician
When Michelle Gildernew came back to Northern Ireland in 1996, she started her political journey. She ran for Sinn Féin in the Northern Ireland Forum elections. She didn't win that time, but she was the second-highest vote-getter for her party.
The next year, she became Sinn Féin's representative in London. She was part of the first Sinn Féin group to visit Downing Street. This is where the UK Prime Minister lives.
In the 1998 Assembly elections, she was elected as an MLA. She kept her seat in the 2003 and 2007 elections. Michelle Gildernew has always worked hard for women's and mothers' rights.
Becoming a Member of Parliament
In the 2001 UK general election, Michelle Gildernew was elected to the UK Parliament. She became the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. She won against James Cooper by only 53 votes.
She was the first woman from her party to be elected to the House of Commons in over 80 years. The last one was Constance Markievicz in 1918. Like other Sinn Féin MPs, she chose not to take her seat in Westminster. This is called abstentionism. She was elected five times but never sat in Parliament.
In the 2005 election, she was re-elected. Her winning margin grew to 4,582 votes. In the 2010 election, other major parties did not put forward candidates against her. She won her seat by just four votes against an independent candidate.
In October 2014, Sinn Féin announced she would run again in the 2015 Westminster election. However, she lost her seat by 530 votes to Tom Elliott. Even so, she was known for being popular across different groups in her area.
She won her seat back in 2017, beating Tom Elliott by 875 votes. In the 2019 election, Elliott got very close. She won by only 57 votes, making it the closest election in the whole country.
In 2019, Michelle Gildernew supported John O'Dowd for Vice President of Sinn Féin. However, he was not successful in his bid.
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
When Michelle Gildernew was the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, she faced some challenges. For example, there was an outbreak of a disease called bluetongue disease.
She also worked to improve cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This helped farmers on both sides of the border.
2011 Irish Presidential Election
In September 2011, there were reports that Sinn Féin was thinking of Michelle Gildernew as their candidate. This was for the 2011 Irish presidential election. In the end, Sinn Féin chose Martin McGuinness to run for president.
European Parliament Election and Retirement
In January 2024, Michelle Gildernew was announced as a Sinn Féin candidate. She ran for the Midlands–North-West area in the 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland.
In May 2024, she said she would step down as an MP. This was so she could focus on her campaign for the European elections. In that election, she received 45,807 votes but was not elected.
Personal Life
Michelle Gildernew is married to Jimmy Taggart. They have two sons and one daughter.
