| Northern Ireland |
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| In Northern Ireland |
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MLA First Minister and deputy First Minister |
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Committees: Affairs - Grand |
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Designated Unionist Designated Nationalist |
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North/South Ministerial Council |
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St Andrews Agreement (2006) Segregation in Northern Ireland |
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The Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Scots: Bilfawst Greeance), alternatively and widely known as the Good Friday Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta), and occasionally as the Stormont Agreement was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of General demographics Population 1685267 The population of Northern Ireland has increased annually since 1978 Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved Member of the Legislative Assembly ( MLA) is a representative elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland. List of committees of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a list of departmental standing and ad hoc committees of the Northern Ireland Assembly. This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body from its establishment in 2000 until its suspension in 2002 and from its re-establishment in This is a list of the 108 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected in 2007. The Northern Ireland Assembly elected in November 2003, never met as such since Northern Ireland 's devolved government and representative institutions were suspended This is a list of Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected in 1998. The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were selected The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year were held on Thursday November 26 The first elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on June 25, 1998. The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved Legislature for Northern Ireland The First Minister and the deputy First Minister (Irish Céad-Aire agus an Leas-Chéad-Aire, Ulster Scots: Heid Männystèr an tha Heid Männystèr depute This article is a list of Northern Ireland government Departments their Agencies and their Ministers and other related organisations (listed underneath each Department First Executive The First Executive ( 1 July, 1998 – 14 October, 2002) was under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 a Executive Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 a new election was called in November 2003 in hope of restoring devolution the election Second Executive The Second Executive ( 8 May, 2007 &ndash is as under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 a power sharing coalition The Northern Ireland Policing Board is the Police Authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Northern Ireland The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial Non-Departmental Public Body responsible for placing restrictions on or banning outright any Parades in Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure administration and policy of the Northern Ireland Office. The Northern Ireland Grand Committee is one of three such Grand committees in the United Kingdom Parliament. This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs elected to the House of Commons by constituencies in Northern Ireland for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United This is a list of sitting Members of the United Kingdom House of Lords who were born live or lived in Northern Ireland. This is a list of Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom who were born live or lived in Northern Ireland. Results Overview For events leading up to the date of the election see article Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom general Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at The Northern Ireland Office ( NIO) is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the chief minister in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland Direct rule was the term given during the late 20th and early 21st centuries to the administration of Northern Ireland directly from Westminster, seat of The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU A Member of the European Parliament ( English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union 's legislative body the European Parliament. Northern Ireland is a Constituency of the European Parliament. Northern Ireland is a Constituency of the European Parliament. England Scotland and Wales Turnout for all the regions was 37 England Scotland and Wales Source: UK Office of the European Parliament Note Percentages are approximate Northern Ireland A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral Designated Unionist means a MLA designated as a Unionist in accordance with standing orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly as set out in the The Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. The Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or in a historic sense simply the Unionist Party See Ulster Progressive Unionist Association, for the political group founded in 1938 The Progressive Unionist Party ( PUP) is a small The Conservatives in Northern Ireland is a name given to the wing of the Conservative and Unionist Party of the United Kingdom that operates in Northern Ireland Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV is a Northern Irish political party founded on 7 December, 2007, as an anti- St Andrews Agreement splinter group Designated Nationalist means a MLA designated as a Nationalist in accordance with standing orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly as set out in the Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP; Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the Designated Other means a MLA designated as an Other in accordance with standing orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly as set out in the Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI is a Political party in Northern Ireland. The Green Party in Northern Ireland originated in the early 1980s partly as a result of the Green Movement which was sweeping across Western Europe and partly because of the massive The North/South Ministerial Council ( NSMC)' ( Irish: An Chomhairle Aireachta Thuaidh/Theas, Ulster Scots: The Noarth-Sooth Cooncil o The British-Irish Council ( BIC) (Comhairle na Breataine-na hÉireann is a body created by the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and formally established on 2 December 1999 The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference ( BIIC) is provided for under Strand Three of the Belfast Agreement. The Civic Forum for Northern Ireland is a consultative body in Northern Ireland consisting of members of various civil bodies The St Andrews Agreement (or Comhaontú Chill Rímhinn in Irish) was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political Segregation in Northern Ireland is a long-running issue in the political and social history of the province Northern Ireland elects on a provincial level a Legislature. The Northern Ireland Assembly has 108 members elected in 18 six-member constituencies with the Northern Ireland is divided into 18 Parliamentary constituencies - 4 Borough constituencies in Belfast and 14 County constituencies elsewhere Political parties in Northern Ireland lists political parties in Northern Ireland. Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. When discussing the History of Northern Ireland, the " peace process " is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican It was signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Good Friday, also called Holy Friday or Great Friday, is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday ("Pascha" The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The accord was endorsed by the voters of Northern Ireland and Ireland in separate referenda on 23 May 1998. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was the only large party that opposed the Agreement. The Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland.
Contents |
Provisions
The Agreement's main provisions included the:
- principle that any change to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland could only follow a majority vote of its citizens;
- commitment by all parties to use "exclusively peaceful and democratic means";
- establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved legislative powers;
- cross-community principle for any major decision taken by the Assembly;
- establishment of a 'power-sharing' Northern Ireland Executive, using the D'Hondt method to allocate Ministries proportionally to the main parties;
- establishment of a North-South Ministerial Council and North-South Implementation Bodies to bring about cross-border cooperation in policy and programmes on a number of issues;
- establishment of a British-Irish Inter-governmental Conference (replacing the former Anglo-Irish Inter-governmental Conference, established by the Anglo-Irish Agreement[1]), which gave a consultative role to Ireland concerning matters not devolved. The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a State to government at subnational level The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved Consociationalism is a form of government involving guaranteed group representation and is often suggested for managing conflict in deeply divided societies The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved Legislature for Northern Ireland The D'Hondt method (mathematically but not operationally equivalent to Jefferson's method, and Bader-Ofer method) is a Highest averages method for The North/South Ministerial Council ( NSMC)' ( Irish: An Chomhairle Aireachta Thuaidh/Theas, Ulster Scots: The Noarth-Sooth Cooncil o The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to bring an end to The Troubles in Northern Ireland Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe.
- establishment of a British-Irish Council, comprising representatives from the governments of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;
- conditional early release within two years of paramilitary prisoners belonging to organisations observing a ceasefire. The British-Irish Council ( BIC) (Comhairle na Breataine-na hÉireann is a body created by the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and formally established on 2 December 1999 Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status
- establishment of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. The' Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission' is a Non-Departmental Public Body recognised as a member of the worldwide network of National institutions for human rights
- establishment of a two year timeframe for decommissioning of paramilitary weapons;
- repeal of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 by the British Parliament. An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920, (and sometimes called the Fourth Home Rule Act) was an Act [1]
- abolition of Ireland's territorial claim to Northern Ireland via the modification of Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Article 2 and Article 3 of the Constitution of Ireland ( Bunreacht na hÉireann) were adopted with the constitution as a whole on 29 December 1937 but completely As a result, the territorial claim which had subsisted since 29 December 1937 was dropped on 2 December 1999;[2]
- introduction of legislation governing policing, human rights and equality in Northern Ireland
- normalisation of security measures, e. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled g. closure of redundant army bases.
- reoform of the police led by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland;
- equality of social, economic and cultural rights of all ethnic communities e. The Royal Ulster Constabulary GC was the name of the Police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001 The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland was established in 1998 as part of the Belfast Agreement, intended as a major step in the Northern Ireland peace g. official recognition of the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages;
- recognition of the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose; and
- confirmation that the right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish.
The Agreement also marked the end of a dispute between the two states over the names of their respective states: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland. The state whose official name is Ireland (Éire and whose description is the Republic of Ireland (Poblacht na hÉireann is and has been known by a number of Vague wording of some of the provisions (described as "constructive ambiguity"), which helped ensure acceptance of the agreement at the time, served to postpone debate on some of the more contentious issues — most notably paramilitary decommissioning, police reform and normalisation. A date of May 2000 was set for total disarming of all paramilitary groups. This was not achieved and delayed the establishment of the Assembly and Executive, because one of the four main parties in the Assembly — Sinn Féin — was "inextricably linked" to the largest paramilitary group, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), and unionists refused to share power with this party, while the PIRA remained armed. Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and
The Assembly and Executive were eventually established in December 1999 on the understanding that decommissioning would begin immediately, but were suspended within two months due to lack of progress, before being re-established in May 2000 as Provisional IRA decommissioning eventually began. Aside from the decommissioning issue, however, ongoing paramilitary activity (albeit relatively low level compared to the past) by the Provisional Irish Republican Army — e. g. , arms importations, smuggling, organised crime, "punishment beatings", intelligence-gathering and rioting — was also a stumbling block. The loyalist paramilitaries also continued similar activity although as they were not represented by a significant political party, their position was less central to political change.
The overall result of these problems was to damage confidence among unionists in the Agreement, which was exploited by the anti-Agreement DUP which eventually defeated the pro-Agreement Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in the 2003 Assembly election. The Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or in a historic sense simply the Unionist Party The UUP had already resigned from the power-sharing Executive in 2002 following arrests of Sinn Féin personnel on charges of gathering intelligence for use by terrorists. Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 (These charges were eventually dropped in 2005 on the controversial grounds that pursual would not be "in the public interest". Immediately afterwards, one of the accused Provisional Sinn Féin members, Denis Donaldson was exposed as a British agent. Denis Martin Donaldson ( Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1950 &ndash April 4, 2006 in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland) was )
In 2004, negotiations were held between the two governments, the DUP, and Sinn Féin on an agreement to re-establish the institutions. These talks failed, but a document published by the governments detailing changes to the Belfast Agreement became known as the 'Comprehensive Agreement'. The 'Comprehensive Agreement' is the name given to a proposed agreement between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland On 26 September 2005, however, it was announced that the Provisional Irish Republican Army had completely decommissioned its arsenal of weapons and "put them beyond use". Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nonetheless, many unionists, most notably the DUP, remained sceptical and agreement on how to restore the power-sharing assembly still had not been reached as of July 2006. Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and Of the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) had decommissioned any weapons [2]. The Loyalist Volunteer Force ( LVF) is a loyalist Paramilitary group in Northern Ireland which broke away from the Ulster Volunteer
As of summer 2007, a Power Sharing Executive has been established to govern Northern Ireland. The current government of Northern Ireland consists of the DUP and Sinn Féin, with the Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley of the DUP as First Minister and Martin McGuiness of Sinn Féin as Deputy First Minister. Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (born 6 April 1926 styled The Rt Hon James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (Máirtín Mag Aonghusa born in Derry on 23 May 1950 is the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Although Dr. Paisley is the head of the government, he and Martin McGuiness hold equal powers within the Northern Ireland Assembly government.
Referenda
In May 1998, there were separate referenda in Northern Ireland and Ireland to endorse the Belfast Agreement. The Belfast Agreement referendum 1998 was a Referendum held in Northern Ireland over whether there was support for the Belfast Agreement. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The "No" vote in Northern Ireland came predominantly from unionists opposed to perceived concessions being made to nationalists and republicans. Irish nationalism (Náisiúnachas Éireannach refers to political and sociological movements and sentiment that embodies a love for Irish ancestry, culture and language and Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic However, opinion polls suggest a slim majority of unionists may have voted "Yes". An opinion poll is a survey of Public opinion from a particular sample. In the Republic of Ireland the electorate voted upon the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland introduced changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the constitution required by the 1998 Belfast Agreement This amendment both permitted the state to comply with the Belfast Agreement and provided for the removal of the 'territorial claim' contained in Articles 2 and 3. Ireland voted upon the Amsterdam Treaty on the same day. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, commonly known as the Amsterdam Treaty The results of the two simultaneous referenda on the Belfast Agreement were as follows:
| Yes | No | Turnout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 676,966 (71%) | 274,879 (29%) | 81% |
| Republic of Ireland | 1,442,583 (94%) | 85,748 (6%) | 56% |
See also
- Northern Ireland peace process
- Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland
- Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
- Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains
- Commissioner for Victims and Survivors of the Troubles
- Sunningdale Agreement
- Anglo-Irish Agreement
References
- ^ Article 2, Anglo-Irish Treaty
- ^ Address by Mr David Andrews, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Exchange of Notifications ceremony at Iveagh House, Dublin, 2 December 1999
External links
- The St Andrews' Agreement The latest attempt to restore devolution to Northern Ireland
- North-South Ministerial Council/An Chomhairle Aireachta Thuaidh/Theas
- Belfast Agreement (full text)
- British-Irish Council
- Inside Out: An Integrative Critique of the Northern Ireland Peace Process U.S. Institute of Peace July 2006
- Address given at the Exchange of Notifications ceremony, whereby Ireland dropped its territorial claim to Northern Ireland, Iveagh House, Dublin, 2 December 1999
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