Martin McGuinness

Martin McGuinness
McGuinness in 2017
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
In office
8 May 2007 – 9 January 2017[a]
Serving with Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, Arlene Foster
Preceded byPeter Hain[b] (As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland)
Mark Durkan (2002)
Succeeded byMichelle O'Neill (2020)
Minister of Education
In office
2 December 1999 – 14 October 2002
First MinisterDavid Trimble (FM)
Seamus Mallon (dFM)
Mark Durkan (dFM)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byCaitríona Ruane
Parliamentary representation
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Foyle
In office
6 May 2016 – 26 January 2017
Preceded byMaeve McLaughlin
Succeeded byElisha McCallion
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Mid Ulster
In office
25 June 1998 – 6 May 2016
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byLinda Dillon
Member of Parliament
for Mid Ulster
In office
1 May 1997 – 2 January 2013
Preceded byWilliam McCrea
Succeeded byFrancie Molloy
Majority15,363 (37.6%)
Personal details
Born
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness

(1950-05-23)23 May 1950
Derry, Northern Ireland
Died21 March 2017(2017-03-21) (aged 66)
Derry, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partySinn Féin
Spouse
Bernadette Canning
​
(m. 1974)​
Children4
Military service
Branch/service
Battles/warsThe Troubles
^a John O'Dowd served as Acting dFM from 20 September 2011 to 31 October 2011 while McGuinness campaigned in the 2011 Irish presidential election
^b During the periods of suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland assumed the responsibilities of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. The final Northern Ireland Secretary to act as First Minister was Peter Hain.

James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (Irish: Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa;[1] 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017.[2]

McGuinness served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster from 1997 until his resignation in 2013.[3][4] Like all Sinn Féin MPs, McGuinness followed abstentionism in the Westminster Parliament. Working alongside US Special Envoy George Mitchell, McGuinness was also one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement which formally cemented the Northern Ireland peace process and established the Northern Ireland Assembly.[5]

In 1998, McGuinness was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Mid Ulster. He served as Minister of Education in the Northern Ireland Executive under First Minister David Trimble from 1999 to 2002. Following the St Andrews Agreement and the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on 8 May 2007, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley becoming First Minister. In 2008 and 2016, he was reappointed as deputy First Minister to serve alongside Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster, respectively.[6] He was Sinn Féin's candidate for President of Ireland in the 2011 Irish presidential election.[7][8][9]

In the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election, McGuinness was elected as the MLA for Foyle. On 9 January 2017, McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal.[10] He announced on 19 January that he would not be standing for re-election in the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election due to ill health. He reportedly suffered from amyloidosis, a condition that attacks the vital organs, and retired shortly before his death on 21 March 2017, aged 66.[11][12]


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  1. ^ "Ag cur Gaeilge ar ais i mbéal an phobail – Fórógra Shinn Féin do na Toghcháin Westminster" (Press release) (in Irish). Sinn Féin press release. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ^ About the Department Archived 22 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.
  3. ^ "Profile: Martin McGuinness". News.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Martin McGuinness resigns as MP for Mid-Ulster". RTÉ.ie. 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ^ Higgins, Erica Doyle. "Former US President Bill Clinton pays tribute to 'courageous' Martin McGuinness". The Irish Post. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Robinson is new NI first minister" , BBC News, 5 June 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008
  7. ^ "Martin McGuinness set to be SF Áras candidate". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  8. ^ GrabOne daily deals (18 September 2011). "McGuinness: My pay will be €35k, I'll be people's president". The Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  9. ^ Simpson, Mark (17 September 2011). "Martin McGuinness: Paramilitary to politician to president?". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Martin McGuinness resigns as NI deputy first minister". BBC News. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  11. ^ McDonald, Henry. "Martin McGuinness quits politics to recover from serious illness | Politics". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness dies aged 66". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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