Patricia Lewsley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cllr Patricia Lewsley MLA | |
 |
|
| In office 1998 – 19 December 2006 |
|
| Succeeded by | Marietta Farrell |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Lagan Valley (MLA) |
|
|
|
| Born | 3 March 1957 Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Social Democratic and Labour Party |
| Website | www.niccy.org [1] |
Patricia Lewsley (born 3 March 1957) is a Northern Irish politician.
Born in Belfast, Lewsley attended the University of Ulster before working as a cook and an advice worker.
In 1998, she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Lagan Valley, a seat she held in 2003. In 2001, she was elected to Lisburn City Council.
On 19 December 2006, Lewsley resigned from the Assembly in order to take up a post as Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (see[2]).
Patricia Lewsley took up post as Commissioner on 8th January, 2007. Previously Ms Lewsley was an MLA and councillor. She has a long track record of working on behalf of children and young people, which includes chairing the All-Party Assembly Groups on Children and Young People, Disability, Diabetes, Anti-Poverty, and Ethnic minorities. She was a co-founder of Shopmobility in Belfast and initiated the appointment of the first and only Disability/Equal Opportunity Officer in local government.
On the day the Assembly was suspended in 2002, she was due to introduce a Private Members Bill to strengthen child protection arrangements in Northern Ireland, by placing Area Child Protection Committees on a statutory footing.
Having trained as a cook she worked in the community as an advice worker, before entering the world of politics in 1993.
Ms Lewsley is a single parent with five children and four grandchildren.
