Mark Durkan
| Mark Durkan link Website (Politician) | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Mark Durkan 26 June 1960 Derry, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast, University of Ulster |
| Parents | Brendan Durkan Isobel Durkan |
| Children | 1 |
| Spouse | Jackie Durkan |
| Party | SDLP |
WEF NI politician who voted to support mandatory Covid certification | |
Mark Henry Durkan is a nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and the former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). He voted to support mandatory Covid-19 certification.[1]
Background
Durkan's father was an Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) District Inspector in Armagh who died before his son's first birthday [2]. He attended St. Patrick's Primary School and at St. Columb's College in Derry[3].
He studied politics at the Queen's University of Belfast and later did a part-time Bachelor of Arts course in Public Policy Management with the University of Ulster at Magee. While at QUB Durkan served as Deputy President of Queen's Students' Union from 1982-1983. He was also elected Deputy President of the Union of Students in Ireland from 1982-1984 [4] .
Politics
He became involved in politics in 1981 when he became a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. In 1984 he went to work for John Hume as his Westminster Assistant. He became a key figure in organising by-election campaigns for the Seamus Mallon and Eddie McGrady in the 1980s [5].
- Durkan's considerable strategic skills were honed by the American-based National Endowment for Democracy, a group which assisted the SDLP in professional electioneering from 1986.[6]
In 1990 Durkan became chairperson of the SDLP, a position he was in until 1995[7]. He was a key member of the party's negotiating team in the run up to the Good Friday Agreement [8].
Following the Agreement Durkan was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998, and became a member of the Northern Ireland Executive as Minister for Finance and Personnel[9].
He was in that position until 2001 when he replaced Seamus Mallon as Deputy First Minister[10]. He was also elected Leader of the SDLP in that year. Durkan was re-elected to the Assembly in the election of November 2003. However, the Assembly and the Executive remained suspended until 8 May 2007[11].
In the 2005 general election he retained the Foyle seat at Westminster for the SDLP with a sizeable majority, despite a strong effort by Sinn Féin to take the seat. Durkan won 21,119 votes [12]
He lost his seat at the UK/2017 General Election.[13]
References
- ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus/ni-assembly-backs-mandatory-covid-certification-laws-how-did-your-mla-vote-41148779.html
- ↑ BBC News, 1 February 2007, Northern Ireland Mark Durkan Martina Purdy
- ↑ Northern Ireland Assemby Mark Durkan
- ↑ SDLP 2007 Mark Durkan MP
- ↑ Northern Ireland Assemby 2003 Mark Durkan
- ↑ Hume leaves it too late, Maol Muire Tynan, Sunday Business Post, 23 September 2001.
- ↑ Northern Ireland Assemby 2003 Mark Durkan
- ↑ BBC News, 1 February 2007, Northern Ireland Mark Durkan Martina Purdy
- ↑ Northern Ireland Assemby 2003 Mark Durkan
- ↑ BBC News, 1 February 2007, Northern Ireland Mark Durkan Martina Purdy
- ↑ Northern Irish Assemby 2007Homepage
- ↑ BBC News; Election 2005; 6 May, 2005 SDLP's Durkan wins seat in Foyle
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-40214591