Ian Parsley

Ian James Parsley (born 3 May 1977) is a businessman and former, part-time politician from Northern Ireland. He was the Alliance Party candidate at the 2009 European elections,[1] and served as Deputy Mayor of North Down.

He attracted considerable criticism and caused much controversy by switching to the Conservatives and Unionists[2] as a parliamentary candidate for North Down in the 2010 General Election, but later that same year he left the Conservative Party having completed a year-long project with the Centre for Social Justice and subsequently rejoined the Alliance Party.

Background

Parsley was born in Yorkshire and educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Newcastle University, graduating in Modern Languages.

Parsley currently works in public relations, as a media commentator on languages, welfare reform and football, and is a Director of Northern Ireland Screen.[3] He is also Chair of the European Movement in Northern Ireland.

Other

Parsley is a writer in and about Ulster Scots[4] and, despite having run against her at the 2010 General Election, he has campaigned alongside Lady Hermon on support for people with dementia and their carers. [5]

He has been married to South Belfast Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw since 2010. He is an avid Arsenal FC fan and speaks French, Spanish and studied German Linguistics at University.

References

  1. ↑ Devenport, Mark (12 May 2009). "Profile: Ian Parsley". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Parsley leaves the Alliance Party". BBC News. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Board Members". Northern Ireland Screen. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Ian James Parsley's Ulster-Scots website". BBC. 20 March 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/latest/parsley-quits-politics-1-2542362

Further reading


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.