Steven Agnew

For the football player and coach, see Steve Agnew.
Steven Agnew
MLA
Leader of the Green Party
in Northern Ireland
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2011
Preceded by Office Created
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for North Down
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 2011
Preceded by Brian Wilson
Personal details
Born 12 October 1979
Dundonald, Northern Ireland
Political party Green Party
Alma mater Queen's University Belfast
Occupation Politician

Steven Agnew (born 12 October 1979) is the leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland. He was elected as an MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2011.

Early life

Agnew was born in Dundonald and studied at Brooklands Primary School, Grosvenor Grammar School and Queen's University Belfast.[1] Sammy Wilson and Michelle McIlveen were teachers at his school. He grew up around a "very negative political landscape", where politics was "about being anti-Catholic, anti the Pope and anti-Sinn Fein".[2]

Agnew was a vegan from the age of 19 to 30, and is now a vegetarian. He has appeared as a singer for a local band called The Killing Spree.

Political career

Agnew joined the Green Party in 2003 during its campaign against the invasion of Iraq.[3] During a protest march from Queen's to the US Consulate, he met John Barry, who convinced him that "the Green Party had a practical agenda of what needed to be changed". He came to believe "environmental justice is interlinked" with social justice.[2]

At the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007, he stood in Belfast East, where he took 2.2% of the vote and was not elected. Brian Wilson was successful for the party at the election, and Agnew became his full-time research officer.[3] He was the party's candidate for the European Parliament election, 2009, where he increased the party's share to 3.3%, although he still came bottom of the poll.[4] At the UK general election, 2010, he stood in North Down, taking 3.1% of the votes cast.[5]

In January 2011, Agnew was elected as the first leader of the Green Party, beating Cadogan Enright in a postal ballot. He successfully contested the North Down seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Mark McCormick, "STEVEN AGNEW, GREEN PARTY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CANDIDATE", South Down Greens
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Black, Rebecca (17 November 2014). "Steven Agnew: 'I work with Jim Allister... it's known as the naughty corner'". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Profile: Steven Agnew". BBC News. 12 May 2009.
  4. ↑ "European election result", BBC News, 8 June 2009
  5. ↑ "Election 2010: Constituency: North Down", BBC News
  6. ↑ "First Northern Ireland leader for Green Party", BBC News, 10 January 2011

External links

Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by
Brian Wilson		 MLA for Down North
2011 - 		Succeeded by
Incumbent