Everything about The Northern Ireland Executive totally explained
The
Northern Ireland Executive is the
executive arm of the
Northern Ireland Assembly, the
devolved legislature for
Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the
Northern Ireland Act 1998.
The executive consists of a
First Minister and deputy First Minister (
diarchy) and various ministers with individual portfolios and remits. The Assembly elects the members of the Executive.
It is one of 3 devolved governments in the United Kingdom, the others being the
Scottish Government and the
Welsh Assembly Government.
Ministers
Structure
In contrast with
Westminster System cabinets, which generally need only be backed by a
majority of legislators, ministerial positions in the Northern Ireland Executive are allocated to all of those parties with significant representation in the Assembly. The number of ministries to which each party is entitled is determined by the
D'Hondt system. In effect, major parties can't be excluded from participation in government, and power-sharing is enforced by the system. The Executive can not function if either of the two largest parties refuse to take part, as these parties are allocated the First Minister and deputy First Minister positions. However, other parties are not required to enter the Executive even if they're entitled to do so; instead, they can choose to go into
opposition if they wish. There were some calls for the
Social Democratic and Labour Party and
Ulster Unionist Party to do just this after the
2007 Assembly elections, but ultimately the two parties chose to take the seats in the Executive to which they were entitled.
History
Each of the three elections since the Assembly was created in 1998 has resulted in an Executive or potential Executive consisting of the four largest Northern Irish parties - the
Democratic Unionist Party,
Sinn Féin, the
Social Democratic and Labour Party and the
Ulster Unionist Party - though the number of ministries allotted to each has waxed and waned with their varying electoral fortunes. The Executive first officially took power on
December 2,
1999, but has been suspended on various occasions, the last effective from
15 October,
2002 until
8 May,
2007, as the
Ulster Unionist Party, then holding the office of First Minister, walked out after a high-profile
Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into an alleged
IRA spy ring. No convictions resulted. While it was suspended, the functions the Executive exercised reverted to the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Executive Committee
On midnight of
7 May 2007, control of Northern Ireland was transferred from the Northern Ireland Office to the Executive of the currently elected Assembly. They were appointed by the Assembly on
8 May 2007.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Northern Ireland Executive'.
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