Steven Agnew
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| Steven Agnew MLA |
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|---|---|
| 200px | |
| Leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland |
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| Assumed office January 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down |
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| Assumed office May 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Brian Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1979 Dundonald, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Occupation | Activist, 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. 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".[1]
Political career
Agnew joined the Green Party in 2003 during its campaign against the invasion of Iraq.[2] 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] At the 2010 United Kingdom general election, he stood in North Down, taking 3.1% of the votes cast.[4]
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.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "European election result", BBC News, 8 June 2009
- ↑ "Election 2010: Constituency: North Down", BBC News
- ↑ "First Northern Ireland leader for Green Party", BBC News, 10 January 2011
External links
- Official website
- Steven Agnew - Northern Ireland Assembly website
- Steven Agnew - Green Party website
| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | MLA for North Down 2011 - |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
