Paul_Givan

Paul Givan

Paul Givan

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland (born 1981)

Not to be confused with Paul Girvan, MP for South Antrim.

Paul Jonathan Givan (born 12 October 1981) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022. He has served as Minister of Education since 3 February 2024.[1] Givan has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley since 2010.

Quick Facts MLA, Minister of Education ...

Givan became First Minister on 17 June 2021, becoming the youngest person to hold that office.[2][3][4] He resigned on 4 February 2022 as part of DUP protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol.[4][5] From 2016 to 2017, Givan served as the Minister for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive under First Minister Arlene Foster.

Givan has been associated with socially conservative views and has been described as being on the Paisleyite right wing of the DUP.[6]

Background

Givan was educated at Laurelhill Community College, where he studied Business and History, and is a graduate of the University of Ulster, where he obtained a degree in Business Studies and completed an Advanced Diploma in Management Practice. He was first elected to Lisburn City Council in 2005.[7] His father, Alan Givan, was a prison officer with the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) who later became a DUP councillor in Lisburn.[8]

Givan was born and raised in Lisburn.[8] However, he is partially of County Monaghan descent, one section of his family having come from Ballybay in County Monaghan. Shortly after the Partition of Ireland in the early 1920s, this section of his family moved north from County Monaghan to County Tyrone.[9] It was near Dungannon in South Tyrone that his paternal grandfather, Herbie Givan, was born and raised. Herbie later became one of the foundational members of the DUP.[8][10]

Political career

According to a 2014 article in the Belfast Telegraph, Givan's "first experience of 'real politics' came when he was 18", at which time he was part-time assistant in the constituency and Stormont offices of Edwin Poots.[11] He was later to work as a special adviser when Poots was Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure between 2007 and 2008, and then again between 2009 and 2010 when he was Minister of the Environment. Givan has stated that his interest in the DUP resulted from listening to Ian Paisley – at a rally against the Good Friday Agreement in Kilkeel.[12][11] "He captured me emotionally for the DUP and Peter Robinson's and Nigel Dodds' forensic analysis of the failing of the Agreement captured me intellectually", he said.[11]

Givan was first co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2010, replacing Jeffrey Donaldson.[13]

In May 2016, Givan was appointed Minister for Communities.[14] As sports minister in November 2016, he visited a GAA club in Lisburn to award a grant and played Gaelic football with some child players of the club.[15]

First Minister of Northern Ireland (2021–2022)

In May 2021, there was speculation that Givan, having worked for Edwin Poots previously, might be nominated to become First Minister of Northern Ireland after Poots was elected DUP leader.[16] On 8 June 2021, Poots introduced Givan as "Northern Ireland's first minister designate".[17] At age 39,[2] Givan was the youngest First Minister in Northern Ireland's history.[4]

On 17 June 2021, a letter from the DUP party chairman and other senior party members asked Poots to delay Givan's nomination as First Minister to oppose the British government's decision to introduce Irish language legislation in the Westminster Parliament.[2] However, Poots nominated Givan as First Minister and Sinn Féin re-nominated Michelle O'Neill as deputy First Minister, restoring the Northern Ireland Executive.[2] Prior to this nomination DUP officials objected to Givan being nominated for the role. As such, within hours of his being sworn in as First Minister, Givan's DUP colleagues convened a party meeting to oust Poots as the leader of the party. Poots resigned shortly after,[18] triggering another leadership contest.[19]

On 19 June it was reported Givan would be required to resign as First Minister once the next DUP leader had been chosen.[20] However, in July, the Irish News said Givan was expected to remain in his position until "later this year" after the new DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said in a UTV interview that he intended to resign his seat as a Westminster MP and become First Minister before the planned 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, but also said that he did not yet know precisely how he would bring this about.[21]

On 3 February 2022, Givan announced his resignation as First Minister, as part of DUP protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol.[5] He became Northern Ireland's shortest serving First Minister, having spent 231 days in office.[22] Givan retained his seat as an MLA for Lagan Valley in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.[23]

Minister of Education (2024–present)

Givan was appointed Minister of Education following the formation of the Executive of the 7th Northern Ireland Assembly on 3 February 2024. He had previously been tipped for the role of deputy First Minister.

Following his appointment, on 8 February 2024, Givan set out his key priorities for education after visiting Rathmore Grammar School. He said he has "ambitious plans to invest in our schools’ estate..."[24] He said he wanted the "gap to close" between wages for school staff in Northern Ireland and their counterparts in Great Britain.[25] On 12 February 2024, in his first Ministerial statement in the assembly, he set out plans for capital investment across the education sector.[26] Givan subsequently announced that new build projects for seven schools across Northern Ireland would progress in planning.[27]

Political views

In 2007, Givan made comments that characterised him as a creationist and was responsible for a motion calling for schools in Lisburn to teach creationist alternatives to evolution.[28][29] The motion was passed by Lisburn City Council and asked all post-primary schools in the area what plans they had to "develop teaching material in relation to creation, intelligent design and other theories of origin".[30] He is also opposed to abortion in Northern Ireland.[31]

Givan supported Edwin Poots' successful bid to become leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in May 2021, alongside Mervyn Storey and Paul Frew.[32]

Controversies

Prostitution hearing (2014)

In 2014, a formal complaint was made by a sex worker, Laura Lee, over Givan's treatment of her after she had been invited to appear at a hearing to discuss proposed changes to prostitution legislation in Northern Ireland. He had asked her how much she charged, and said she was exploiting disabled people by not giving them discounts.[33]

Freedom of Conscience Amendment Bill (2015)

In February 2015, Givan proposed a Northern Ireland Freedom of Conscience Amendment Bill, after controversy and legal action arose when Ashers Baking Company, a business owned by a religious family, refused to bake and decorate a cake with a message supportive of same-sex marriage.[34] This motion led to a petition against the bill, which received 100,000 signatures in 48 hours.[35] The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission subsequently published an advisory noting that the "underlying premise" of the proposed bill (that "freedom to manifest one’s religion is undermined by the protection of individuals from discrimination") was unfounded, and that the Northern Ireland Assembly could not enact laws incompatible with existing conventions on human rights.[36] In October 2018, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that the refusal of service had not been discriminatory as it related to the customer's choice of order and not the customer's sexual orientation.[37]

Irish language scheme (2016)

In December 2016, Givan cut funding for the Líofa scheme, which enabled people to go to the Donegal Gaeltacht to learn Irish. This decision prompted Gerry Adams to label him as an "ignoramus",[38] and Martin McGuinness described the removal of the Bursary Scheme as "the straw that broke the camel's back" in his resignation speech from the role of deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland leading to a political crisis in the Stormont Executive.[39] Givan later tweeted that the "decision on the Líofa Bursary Scheme was not a political decision. I have now identified the necessary funding to advance this scheme."[40]

References

  1. [1]
    "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill makes history as nationalist first minister". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. [2]
    Kearney, Vincent (17 June 2021). "Givan, O'Neill installed as NI First and Deputy First Ministers". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. [3]
    "Paul Givan resigns as NI First Minister". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. [4]
    Carrol, Rory (17 June 2021). "Northern Ireland: Paul Givan becomes first minister after Irish language deal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. [5]
    Young, David; McCambridge, Jonathan; Ryan, Philip (3 January 2022). "DUP's Paul Givan resigns as Northern Ireland first minister, as Taoiseach brands it 'very damaging move'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. [6]
    Gordon, Gareth (8 June 2021). "Paul Givan: How will the new first minister handle the top job?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – Northern Ireland". Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  8. [8]
    "'Dad was heading to the hospital to visit mum who was giving birth for the first time and there was a letter bomb from the IRA waiting for him'". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 16 April 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  9. [9]
    "Coveney acknowledges hurt among minorities on both sides of border". BreakingNews.ie. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  10. [10]
    "Leader will focus on 'shared future' agenda in address to party meeting". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  11. [11]
    "Paul Givan: Conscience clause MLA a politician on a mission". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  12. [12]
    "Paul Givan: How will the new first minister handle the top job?". BBC News. 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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    "Givan to take up Donaldson's role". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  14. [14]
    "Northern Ireland Executive ministers named: Independent Sugden named Justice Minister – DUP and Sinn Fein choose ministries". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. [15]
    Simpson, Mark (25 November 2016). "Paul Givan: DUP sports minister's first appearance on GAA pitch". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  16. [16]
    Breen, Suzanne (2 May 2021). "Paul Givan could become First Minister if Poots wins DUP leadership". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  17. [17]
    Hutton, Brian (8 June 2021). "Paul Givan named as Northern Ireland's first minister designate". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  18. [18]
    "DUP leader Edwin Poots quits after revolt in party". independent.co.uk. Independent. 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
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    "Edwin Poots is to stand down as DUP leader". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  20. [20]
    "DUP: Paul Givan told he must resign as first minister". BBC News. 19 June 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  21. [21]
    "Paul Givan to stay on as first minister 'until later this year'". Irish News. 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021. Paul Givan is set to remain as First Minister for the summer when Sir Jeffrey Donaldson announces changes later within his party at the Stormont Assembly. Sir Jeffrey intends to stand down from his Westminster seat in Lagan Valley and take a place at Stormont. In a UTV interview on Monday evening, he said he hoped to do so "later this year" and take up the position of first minister before the next assembly election. However, he said he did not know yet exactly how he would make this happen.
  22. [22]
    "Profile: Paul Givan's political career". BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  23. [23]
    "Elections 2022 - Lagan Valley election result". bbc.com. BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Minister pledges to deliver on key priorities for Education". Education. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  25. [25]
    "Paul Givan: DUP education minister wants to close gap on pay". BBC News. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  26. [26]
    "Minister's statement on Sustainable Investment in Education Infrastructure". Education. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  27. [27]
    "Seven New Schools to Progress in Planning". Education. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  28. [28]
    "DUP's Paul Givan to succeed Arlene Foster as Northern Ireland's first minister". independent.co.uk. The Independent. 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021. Mr Givan [is] a creationist who has in the past supported the teaching of alternatives to evolution in schools
  29. [29]
    "Row Brews Over Dup Call For Schools To Teach Creationism - Ulster Star". Lisburntoday.co.uk. 20 September 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020.
  30. [30]
    McCrory, Conor; Murphy, Colette (2009). "The Growing Visibility of Creationism in Northern Ireland: Are New Science Teachers Equipped to Deal with the Issues?". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 2 (3): 372–385. doi:10.1007/s12052-009-0141-4. ISSN 1936-6434.
  31. [31]
    "NI abortion: Givan vows to resist commissioning order". BBC News. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  32. [32]
    "DUP leadership race: All you need to know about the contest". BBC News. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  33. [33]
    Clarke, Liam (19 February 2014). "Prostitute in formal complaint to Assembly over grilling by DUP man". Belfasttelegraph. BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  34. [34]
    "DUP Meet Catholic Bishops to Discuss Protection of Religious Freedom". Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  35. [35]
    "Over 148,000 sign petition against anti-gay Northern Ireland conscience clause bill". PinkNews. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  36. [36]
    "Advice on Freedom of Conscience BIll". nihrc.org. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  37. [37]
    "Ashers 'gay cake' row: Bakers win Supreme Court appeal". bbc.com. BBC News. 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  38. [38]
    "RHI scandal: Gerry Adams says Sinn Féin will act over fiasco". BBC News. 8 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  39. [39]
    "Martin McGuinness resigns as NI deputy first minister". BBC News. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  40. [40]
    "Liofa: DUP Irish language U-turn 'olive branch' rejected by Sinn Fein – countdown to election continues". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
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