Naomi Long facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Naomi Long
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Official portrait, 2016
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| Minister of Justice | |
| Assumed office 3 February 2024 |
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| First Minister | Michelle O'Neill |
| Preceded by | herself (2022) |
| In office 11 January 2020 – 27 October 2022 |
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| First Minister | Arlene Foster Paul Givan Vacant |
| Preceded by | Claire Sugden |
| Leader of the Alliance Party | |
| Assumed office 26 October 2016 |
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| Deputy | Stephen Farry Eóin Tennyson |
| Preceded by | David Ford |
| Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party | |
| In office 18 February 2006 – 26 October 2016 |
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| Leader | David Ford |
| Preceded by | Eileen Bell |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Farry |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast East |
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| Assumed office 9 January 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Máire Hendron |
| In office 5 May 2016 – 1 July 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Judith Cochrane |
| Succeeded by | Máire Hendron |
| In office 26 November 2003 – 5 July 2010 |
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| Preceded by | John Alderdice |
| Succeeded by | Chris Lyttle |
| Member of the European Parliament for Northern Ireland |
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| In office 2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Nicholson |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Belfast East |
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| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Gavin Robinson |
| 66th Lord Mayor of Belfast | |
| In office 1 June 2009 – 1 June 2010 |
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| Deputy | Danny Lavery |
| Preceded by | Tom Hartley |
| Succeeded by | Pat Convery |
| Member of the Belfast City Council for Victoria Ward |
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| In office 7 June 2001 – 26 August 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Danny Dow |
| Succeeded by | Laura McNamee |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Naomi Rachel Johnston
13 December 1971 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Alliance |
| Spouse |
Michael Long
(m. 1995) |
| Relations | Adrian Long (father-in-law) |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Awards | BBC 100 Women (2022) |
Naomi Rachel Long is a politician from Northern Ireland. She is the leader of the Alliance Party and the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland. This means she is in charge of the department that oversees courts, police, and prisons.
Born in 1971, Long has had a long career in politics. She started in local government and has held many important jobs. She was the Lord Mayor of Belfast and has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK Parliament, and the European Parliament. She is the first politician from Northern Ireland to have served in all of these roles.
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Early Life and Education
Naomi Long was born in east Belfast. She went to Mersey Street Primary School and then Bloomfield Collegiate School.
After school, she studied civil engineering at Queen's University Belfast and graduated in 1994. Civil engineers design and build things like bridges, roads, and buildings. She worked as an engineer for several years before starting her career in politics.
Start in Politics
Long's political journey began in 2001 when she was elected to the Belfast City Council. Two years later, in 2003, she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast East. The Assembly is where politicians, called MLAs, make laws for Northern Ireland.
In 2006, she became the deputy leader of the Alliance Party. By 2009, she was elected Lord Mayor of Belfast, becoming only the second woman to hold that position.
Member of Parliament
In 2010, Long achieved a major victory by winning a seat in the House of Commons in London. She became a Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast East. This was a historic win for the Alliance Party, as she was the first person from her party to be elected as an MP.
In 2012, Long faced serious threats after a difficult decision was made about flying the Union flag at Belfast City Hall. The decision, which her party supported, was to fly the flag only on certain days. This caused a lot of anger, and her office was targeted.
She served as an MP for five years but lost her seat in the 2015 election.
Leader of the Alliance Party
In 2016, Long returned to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Later that year, she became the leader of the Alliance Party. As leader, she said she wanted to build a society that was united, open, and fair for everyone.
Her party's goals included:
- Making equality laws stronger.
- Allowing same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
- Supporting integrated education, where children from different backgrounds learn together.
- Creating a plan to fight climate change.
Under her leadership, the Alliance Party grew in popularity. In the 2017 Assembly election, the party did very well and held an important position in the government at Stormont.
Working in Europe and Northern Ireland
In 2019, Long was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Northern Ireland. This was another big success for the Alliance Party. She represented Northern Ireland in Europe until the United Kingdom left the European Union in January 2020.
After her time as an MEP ended, she returned to her role as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East.
Minister of Justice
When the Northern Ireland Assembly started working again in January 2020 after a three-year break, Long was appointed Minister of Justice. In this role, she has worked on important issues.
One of her first actions was to introduce a new law to protect people from domestic abuse. She also worked on plans to tackle crime by taking away money and property from criminals who cannot explain how they got it.
Personal Life
Naomi Long is married to Michael Long, who is also a politician with the Alliance Party. He has also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast. They are the first husband and wife to have both held this role.
She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In 2017, she shared that she had a health condition called endometriosis and would need surgery.
