| Jim Wells MLA | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Down |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 June 1998 |
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| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 April 1957 Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Democratic Unionist Party |
| Children | 1 son & 2 daughters |
| Alma mater | Queen's University, Belfast |
| Committees | Deputy Chairperson of Northern Ireland Assembly Committee on Health, Social Services and Public Safety Justice Committee |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Website | DUP |
Jim Wells, born 27 April 1957, is a Northern Ireland politician from the Democratic Unionist Party and formerly Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Wells is one of six Assembly members for South Down. He was a Councillor on Down District Council from 2001 to 2011.
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Wells was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in October 1982. He opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement, particularly for the next two years after its inception, and frequently confronted Tom King, the Secretary of State, in the course of his public engagements.
He was elected to the new Northern Ireland Assembly as DUP representative for South Down in June 1998, following the Belfast Agreement the previous month. He stood unsuccessfully in General Elections in Upper Bann in 1983, and in South Down in 2001, 2005 and 2010.
From 1 July 2009 until 24 March 2011 Jim Wells was the Chairman to the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee on Health Social Services And Public Health. In the current Assembly he has taken the position of Deputy Chairman of the same committee, serving in this capacity until he is expected to become the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in mid-2013.
Jim is also the Chairperson of Assembly All-Party Group on International Development.
Jim Wells had an eventful election period during 2011. Although the Boundary Commission removed the majority Unionist-voting Ballynahinch from South Down and replaced it a part of majority Nationalist Newry, Wells managed to poll over 5200 first preference votes, and was elected on the third count. His surplus was enough to bring his Ulster Unionist rival John McCallister over the required quota of 5961, something which John had not accomplished in the 2007 Assembly Election.
Jim Wells also suffered an unfortunate accident on the night of the 2011 Assembly Election, displacing his collar bone after removing an election poster. This created a great deal of comment on Twitter and Facebook and was mentioned on UTV election coverage as "The DUP's One Arm Bandit".[1]
Wells has a degree in geography and a postgraduate diploma in town and country planning from Queen's University Belfast.
He was employed as a manager by the National Trust from 1989, before returning to frontline politics in 1998.
In July 2011, Wells was invited - along with politicians from all the Major Parties in Northern Ireland - to attend 'Pride On The Hill'; an event held at Stormont where each would provide a speaker. According to several news outlets[2] [3], Wells apparently responded to Simon Rea (organiser of Belfast Pride) with:
“Dear Mr Rea, I understand that you contacted my Kilkeel office regarding what is termed a ‘Belfast Pride’ debate. I find the behaviour of those who take part in this march repugnant. I do not wish to be associated in any way with this event. My position on this will not change in the future and I would politely suggest that any further requests of this nature will be a total waste of your time. Jim Wells.”
Wells' party later stated: “Party headquarters only received a request for a participant in this debate on Thursday, 21st July. Given the busy schedule of our MLAs, such short notice did not enable us to supply a speaker on this occasion”. They did not comment on the content of Wells' message.
| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New creation |
MLA for Down South 1998 - |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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