Cara_Hunter

Cara Hunter

Cara Hunter

Northern Ireland politician

Cara Hunter MLA (born 8 November 1995[1]) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, currently serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry, a position she has held since 18 May 2020.[2]

Quick Facts MLA, Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Londonderry ...

Early life

Hunter grew up in the Causeway Coast and Tyrone area[3] and then moved to the United States at nine years old, attending Simi Valley High School in California and studying broadcast journalism at California State University, Northridge.[4] She completed her degree at Liverpool John Moores University.[3]

Hunter was crowned Miss Intercontinental 2017, becoming the first contestant from Northern Ireland to win the beauty pageant, after entering it to honour a close friend who committed suicide at the age of 20. As pageant titleholder, she served as an ambassador for Me4Mental, a mental health charity in Derry.[5]

Career

Hunter was elected to Derry City and Strabane District Council on 2 May 2019 and was elected Deputy Mayor of Derry.[6]

Hunter stood unsuccessfully in East Londonderry at the December 2019 general election.[7] She was coopted to the Northern Ireland Assembly after the death of John Dallat in May 2020.[8][9][10][11] She is the SDLP's mental health spokesperson.[12]

Hunter was the target of a harassment campaign during the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, in which a pornographic clip, falsely claimed as featuring Hunter, was circulated on social media. Hunter received abusive and sexually explicit messages from men as a result.[13] She described the as an "intimidation tactic" to make her feel embarrassed and humiliated.[14]

Personal life

In October 2021, Hunter revealed that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumour on her first day at Stormont, saying that her condition was not "life-threatening" but "life-altering".[15]

References

  1. [1]
    "Birthday tweet". Twitter. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Cara Hunter MLA | People". SDLP.
  3. [3]
    Pow, Jamie (27 April 2019). "Meet the candidate: Cara Hunter". Northern Slant. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. [4]
    Stewart, Linda (7 October 2020). "The Big Ask with SDLP MLA Cara Hunter: 'Mum gave me a great work ethic... she is an inspiration'". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  5. [5]
    Corr, Shauna (18 September 2017). "Chance to fight suicide inspired NI's first Miss Continental to crown". BelfastLive. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  6. [6]
    Pow, Jamie (27 April 2019). "Meet the candidate: Cara Hunter".
  7. [7]
    "No surprises in East Londonderry as Gregory Campbell retains his seat". www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk.
  8. [8]
    "SDLP co-opt Cara Hunter as East Londonderry MLA". BBC News. 18 May 2020.
  9. [9]
    McConville, Marie Louise (18 May 2020). "Cara Hunter selected as new East Derry assembly member following passing of John Dallat". The Irish News.
  10. [10]
    "Derry Deputy Mayor Cara Hunter selected by SDLP to replace late East Derry MLA John Dallat". www.derryjournal.com.
  11. [11]
    "Cara Hunter is new East Derry SDLP MLA following sad passing of John Dallat". www.derryjournal.com.
  12. [12]
    "Hunter welcomes Executive task force on mental health | 2020 | News". SDLP.
  13. [13]
    Morris, Allison (9 May 2022). "Cara Hunter MLA: Stress of fake clip made my life absolutely horrific in election run-up". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  14. [14]
    "'Cruel and malicious': sexist attacks dampen joy for Stormont's new female members". the Guardian. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  15. [15]
    "SDLP MLA Cara Hunter: I found out I had a brain tumour on my first day at Stormont". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
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