Alasdair McDonnell

Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is an Irish politician, Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and both a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Belfast. On 5 November 2011, he was elected as the new leader of the SDLP.^[1]

Early life

McDonnell was born in Cushendall, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. A family doctor in Belfast for over thirty years, Alasdair McDonnell grew up as the eldest child in a large farming family in Glenariff, near Cushendall in the Glens of Antrim, and attended medical school at University College Dublin, graduating in 1974.

Political career

McDonnell's first involvement with politics came when he joined the National Democrats and stood as the party candidate in the 1970 election in North Antrim, losing to Ian Paisley.^[2]

McDonnell first won election to Belfast City Council in 1977, representing Belfast 'Area A' which included the Short Strand and Upper Ormeau areas. He lost his council seat in a surprise result in 1981 but returned in 1985 and served as the first Catholic Deputy Mayor of Belfast in 1995-1996.

He first stood for the Westminster constituency of South Belfast in the 1979 general election and subsequently contested the constituency at each subsequent general election, though not in the 1986 by-election (caused by the resignation of Unionist MPs in protest at the Anglo Irish Agreement).

He was also elected from the constituency to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum in 1996 and the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003.

In 2004 he became his party's deputy leader. In the 2005 general election McDonnell generated one of the most sensational results in Northern Ireland when he won South Belfast, primarily due to a split in the unionist vote. He received 10,339 votes while the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) candidate Jimmy Spratt received 9,104 votes and Ulster Unionist Party candidate Michael McGimpsey received 7,263 votes. He was then re-elected by an increased majority in the 2010 general election.

On 5 November 2011, he was elected leader of the SDLP at its conference in Belfast, succeeding Margaret Ritchie.^[1]

Personal life

McDonnell is married with four children including Ruairi who plays for Belfast Harlequins.

References

External links

• Alasdair McDonnell's website
• Stratagem Profile
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Alasdair McDonnell MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Alasdair McDonnell MP
• Maiden Speech : House of Commons - 15 June 2005