Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

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The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Irish: Státrúnaí) is the British cabinet minister who has responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland.

[edit] History

The office was created following the suspension, then abolition, of the home rule Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, following widespread civil strife. The post of Secretary of State in effect fills two roles under the previous Stormont regime; the nominal head of the Northern Ireland executive, the Governor of Northern Ireland (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) and the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State resides in Hillsborough Castle, the previous residence of the Governor and the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland.

Power was devolved back to Northern Ireland on January 1, 1974 to the Northern Ireland Assembly under Brian Faulkner, but this administration collapsed on May 29 after a widespread strike organised by the loyalist Ulster Workers' Council, who refused to countenance the power-sharing and All-Ireland aspects of the new administration. In 1982 a second Northern Ireland Assembly was established with the hope that it would eventually assume power, but this Assembly was prorogued shortly after the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Under the Belfast Agreement (also called the Good Friday Agreement), the third Northern Ireland Assembly was established. In 1999 the new coalition government was established, consisting of a First Minister of Northern Ireland, a Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and an inter-party cabinet. The coalition consisted of members of four parties:

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) (DUP ministers worked in their departments but refused to sit at Executive Committee meetings, because of the presence of Sinn Féin ministers).
Sinn Féin

The devolved administration was suspended several times because the Ulster Unionists were uncomfortable being in government with Sinn Féin. The failure of the Provisional IRA to complete decommissioning within a period specified in the Good Friday Agreement for decommissioning of all paramilitary weapons led to threats from the Ulster Unionists to withdraw from the government. From October 14 2002 the Executive and Assembly were suspended after allegations of an IRA spy ring operating in Stormont.

The responsibilities of the ministers in the Executive are currently exercised by British ministers answerable to the Secretary of State. The Secretary and his ministers are responsible only to London and not to the Assembly.