Nigel Dodds Facts for Kids

Ministerial offices

Minister of Finance and Personnel
In office 5 June 2008 – 1 July 2009
First Minister	Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Peter Robinson
Succeeded by	Sammy Wilson
Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
In office 8 May 2007 – 5 June 2008
First Minister	Ian Paisley Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Reg Empey
Succeeded by	Arlene Foster
Minister for Social Development
In office 24 October 2001 – 14 October 2002
First Minister	Reg Empey (acting) David Trimble
Preceded by	Maurice Morrow
Succeeded by	Margaret Ritchie
In office 21 November 1999 – 27 July 2000
First Minister	David Trimble
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Maurice Morrow

Parliamentary offices

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage 19 October 2020
Member of Parliament for Belfast North
In office 7 June 2001 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Cecil Walker
Succeeded by	John Finucane
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast North
In office 25 June 1998 – 10 September 2010
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	William Humphrey
Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Belfast North
In office 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998

Local government offices

45th and 48th Lord Mayor of Belfast
In office 1 June 1991 – 1 June 1992
Preceded by	Fred Cobain
Succeeded by	Herbert Ditty
In office 1 June 1988 – 1 June 1989
Preceded by	J.J. Dixon Gilmore
Succeeded by	Reg Empey
Member of Belfast City Council
In office 15 May 1985 – 5 May 2010
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Lydia Patterson
Constituency	Castle

Personal details

Born

Nigel Alexander Dodds

20 August 1958 (age 66)
Derry, Northern Ireland

Nationality

British

Political party

Democratic Unionist Party

Spouse

Diane Dodds

Children

Alma mater

St John's College, Cambridge
Queen's University of Belfast

Profession

Politician

Nigel Alexander Dodds, also known as Baron Dodds of Duncairn, was born on August 20, 1958. He is a politician from Northern Ireland and a lawyer. Since 2021, he has been the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords. Before this, he was the DUP's deputy leader from 2008 to 2021. He also led the DUP in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019.

Nigel Dodds was born in Derry and grew up in County Fermanagh. He worked as a barrister, which is a type of lawyer. He served twice as the Lord Mayor of Belfast. He was also the General Secretary of the DUP from 1993 to 2008. From 1998 to 2010, Dodds was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He held three different government jobs in the Northern Ireland Executive. His last role was as Minister of Finance and Personnel from 2008 to 2009.

He became a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast North area in the 2001 UK general election. He held this role until 2019, when he was not re-elected. In 2020, he was given a special title called a peerage, which allowed him to join the House of Lords. He chose the title Lord Dodds of Duncairn.

Early Life and Education
Political Career Highlights
Personal Life
See also

Early Life and Education

Nigel Dodds' father, Joe Dodds, was also a politician. He was a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and served on the Fermanagh District Council until he passed away in 2008.

Nigel went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He then studied law at St John's College, Cambridge, a famous university. He did very well there, earning a top degree and winning several awards for his studies.

After university, he returned to Northern Ireland. He studied at Queen's University of Belfast to become a barrister. He worked as a barrister for a while. From 1984 to 1996, he also worked for the Secretariat of the European Parliament.

Political Career Highlights

Dodds started his political journey in local government elections in 1981, though he wasn't elected then. In 1985, he was elected to the Belfast City Council. He represented the Castle electoral area in Belfast.

He quickly became an important figure in the DUP. In June 1988, he became the Lord Mayor of Belfast at 29 years old, making him the youngest person to hold that position at the time. He served as Lord Mayor again in June 1992.

In 1996, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum. He was also elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly three times for the Belfast North area. In 1997, he received an award called the OBE for his work in local government.

Serving as a Member of Parliament

In 2001, Nigel Dodds ran for the Belfast North seat in the UK Parliament. He won the election, becoming a Member of Parliament (MP). He served as the MP for Belfast North until 2019.

He also held important roles in the Northern Ireland Executive. He was the Minister of Social Development from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2002.

In June 2008, Dodds became the Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). In June 2010, he joined the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. This is a group of important advisors to the King.

Facing Challenges and Changes

In 2003, Nigel Dodds' office was targeted by a bomb. Luckily, experts from the British Army safely removed the bomb.

In July 2013, during a parade in North Belfast, Dodds was hurt when a brick was thrown. This happened during protests related to a decision about parade routes.

The 2017 general election was important for the DUP. It led to the DUP supporting the Conservative government, which was a minority government. This meant the DUP had more influence in Westminster. Dodds was against any plans that he felt would weaken the connection between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

In March 2019, Dodds was one of the MPs who voted against certain education changes in English schools. In the 2019 general election, he lost his seat in Parliament to John Finucane of Sinn Féin.

Joining the House of Lords

After leaving the House of Commons, Nigel Dodds was given a special title called a life peerage. This meant he could become a member of the House of Lords. He officially became Baron Dodds of Duncairn on September 18, 2020. He gave his first speech in the House of Lords on November 3, 2020.

In May 2021, Dodds announced that he would not seek to be re-elected as the DUP's deputy leader. He continues to serve as the DUP's leader in the House of Lords.

Personal Life

Nigel Dodds is married to Diane Dodds, who is also a DUP politician. They have two sons and one daughter. They live in Banbridge, County Down.

Nigel Dodds facts for kids

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