List of heads of government of Northern Ireland
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Since 1921, there have been three different prime ministerial offices in Northern Ireland. The most recent devolved cabinet is the Northern Ireland Executive, established under the Good Friday Agreement. The Executive has been in operation, intermittently, since 1999; but had existed continuously since 2007, but after elections following a government collapsed on 16 January 2017, no Executive was formed until January 2020, when the parties came to an agreement and an Executive was subsequently established. The most recent structure, the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, represents a diarchy. As such, there is no longer a singular executive office, but rather a dual office.
| Head | Cabinet | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Government | 7 June 1921 – 30 March 1972 |
| Chief Executive | Executive (Sunningdale) | 1 January 1974 – 28 May 1974 |
| First Minister and deputy First Minister | Executive | 1 July 1998 – present |
List of officeholders
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Constituency |
Term | Political party | Election | Government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | Sir James Craig[a] (1871–1940) MP for Down until 1929 MP for North Down from 1929 |
7 June 1921 | 24 November 1940 | 19 years, 170 days | Ulster Unionist Party | 1921 1925 1929 1933 1938 |
Craigavon ministry | |
| 2 | John Miller Andrews (1871–1956) MP for Mid Down |
25 November 1940 | 1 May 1943 | 2 years, 157 days | Ulster Unionist Party | — | Andrews ministry | |
| 3 | Sir Basil Brooke[b] (1888–1973) MP for Lisnaskea |
1 May 1943 | 25 March 1963 | 19 years, 328 days | Ulster Unionist Party | 1945 1949 1953 1958 1962 |
Brookeborough ministry | |
| 4 | Terence O'Neill (1914–1990) MP for Bannside |
25 March 1963 | 1 May 1969 | 6 years, 37 days | Ulster Unionist Party | 1965 1969 |
O'Neill ministry | |
| 5 | James Chichester-Clark (1923–2002) MP for South Londonderry |
1 May 1969 | 23 March 1971 | 1 year, 326 days | Ulster Unionist Party | — | Chichester-Clark ministry | |
| 6 | Brian Faulkner (1921–1977) MP for East Down until 1972 MLA for South Down from 1973 |
23 March 1971 | 30 March 1972 | 1 year, 7 days | Ulster Unionist Party | — | Faulkner ministry | |
| 1 January 1974 | 28 May 1974 | 147 days | 1973 | 1974 Executive | ||||
| First Ministers | ||||||||
| 1 | David Trimble (1944–2022) MLA for Upper Bann |
1 July 1998 | 14 October 2002 | 4 years, 105 days | Ulster Unionist Party | 1998 | First Executive | |
| 2 | Ian Paisley (1926–2014) MLA for North Antrim |
8 May 2007 | 5 June 2008 | 1 year, 28 days | Democratic Unionist Party | 2007 | Second Executive | |
| 3 | Peter Robinson (born 1948) MLA for Belfast East |
5 June 2008 | 11 January 2016 | 7 years, 220 days | Democratic Unionist Party | 2011 | Second Executive (2008–2011) Third Executive (2011–2016) | |
| 4 | Arlene Foster (born 1970) MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
11 January 2016 | 9 January 2017 | 364 days | Democratic Unionist Party | 2016 2017 |
Fourth Executive | |
| 11 January 2020 | 14 June 2021 | 1 year, 154 days | Fifth Executive | |||||
| 5 | Paul Givan (born 1981) MLA for Lagan Valley |
17 June 2021 | 3 February 2022 | 231 days | Democratic Unionist Party | — | ||
| 6 | Michelle O'Neill (born 1977) MLA for Mid Ulster |
3 February 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 53 days | Sinn Féin | 2022 | Sixth Executive | |
| Deputy First Ministers | ||||||||
| 1 | Seamus Mallon (1936–2020) MLA for Newry and Armagh |
1 July 1998 | 6 November 2001 | 3 years, 128 days | Social Democratic and Labour Party | 1998 | First Executive | |
| 2 | Mark Durkan (born 1960) MLA for Foyle |
6 November 2001 | 14 October 2002 | 342 days | Social Democratic and Labour Party | — | First Executive | |
| 3 | Martin McGuinness (1950–2017) MLA for Mid Ulster until 2016 MLA for Foyle from 2016 |
8 May 2007 | 9 January 2017 | 9 years, 246 days | Sinn Féin | 2007 2011 2016 |
Second Executive (2007–2011) Third Executive (2011–2016) Fourth Executive (2016–2017) | |
| 4 | Michelle O'Neill (born 1977) MLA for Mid Ulster |
11 January 2020 | 3 February 2022 | 2 years, 23 days | Sinn Féin | 2017 | Fifth Executive | |
| 5 | Emma Little-Pengelly (born 1979) MLA for Lagan Valley |
3 February 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 53 days | Democratic Unionist Party | 2022 | Sixth Executive | |
