Executive of the 1974 Northern Ireland Assembly
Template:Short description Template:Infobox government cabinet
A power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive was formed following the Northern Ireland Assembly elections of 1973. The executive served as the devolved government of Northern Ireland from 1 January 1974 until its collapse on 28 May 1974.
History
Elections to a Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 28 June 1973.[1] On 21 November, the Sunningdale Agreement was reached on a voluntary coalition of pro-agreement parties, and the Executive took office on 1 January 1974.[2] Prominent members of the executive included former Ulster Unionist Party Prime Minister Brian Faulkner as chief executive, then Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Gerry Fitt as deputy chief executive, future Nobel Laureate and SDLP leader John Hume as minister for commerce and then leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Oliver Napier as legal minister and head of the Office of Law Reform.[3]
The UUP was deeply divided; its Standing Committee voted to participate in the executive by a margin of only 132 to 105.[4] Since the partition of Ireland, unionists had been opposed to sharing power with the Irish nationalist minority and the end of majoritarianism caused great strife in the UUP. Other contentious issues were internment, policing and the question of the planned Council of Ireland.
After opposition from within the UUP and the Ulster Workers' Council strike, the executive and Assembly collapsed on 28 May 1974 when Faulkner resigned as chief executive.[5]
Chief Executive
In January 1974 Brian Faulkner became chief executive in the power-sharing executive with the SDLP and the non-sectarian Alliance Party, a political alliance cemented at the Sunningdale Conference that year. After opposition from within the UUP and the Ulster Workers Council Strike, the executive and assembly collapsed on 28 May 1974 when Faulkner resigned as chief executive. Brian Faulkner would later then form his own political party known as the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.[6] They contested the 1975 Constitutional Convention Elections in which they got only 5 seats and no new chief executive was elected to replace Brian Faulkner.
| No. | Name (Birth–Death)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". ConstituencyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Portrait | Term of office | Elected (Assembly)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Executive | Party | Last office(s) held before election | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Party color;" | | 1. | Brian Faulkner (1921–1977)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". MLA for South DownScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
1 January 1974 | 28 May 1974 | 1973 (Assembly) | 1974 Executive |
Ulster Unionist Party | Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1971–1972) Minister of Home Affairs (1971–1972) | |
1974 Executive of Northern Ireland
Template:Politics of Northern Ireland 1972-98
| Office | Name | Term | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Brian Faulkner | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Deputy Chief Executive | Gerry Fitt | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | SDLP |
| Minister of Agriculture | Leslie Morrell | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Minister of Commerce | John Hume | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | SDLP |
| Minister of Education | Basil McIvor | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Minister of the Environment | Roy Bradford | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Minister of Finance | Herbert Kirk | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Minister of Health and Social Services | Paddy Devlin | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | SDLP |
| Minister of Housing, Local Government and Planning | Austin Currie | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | SDLP |
| Minister of Information | John Baxter | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | UUP |
| Legal Minister and Head of the Office of Law Reform | Oliver Napier | 1974 | style="background-color: Template:Party color;" | | Alliance |
References
See also
- Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)
- Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected in 1973
- 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election
- History of Northern Ireland
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