Joe Byrne (politician)

Joe Byrne MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for West Tyrone
In office 25 June 1998 – 26 November 2003
Preceded by	New Creation
Succeeded by	Kieran Deeny
In office 5 May 2011 – 31 December 2015
Preceded by	Kieran Deeny
Succeeded by	Daniel McCrossan
Personal details
Born	29 November 1953 [1]
Political party	SDLP
Alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Joe Byrne (born 29 November 1953) is an Irish Nationalist politician in Northern Ireland, representing West Tyrone between 1998 and 2003 and since 2011 in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Political biography

After studying economics at Queen's University Belfast, Byrne became a college lecturer. He also joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and in 1993 was elected to Omagh District Council, becoming Chairman in 1997.^[2]

In 1996, Byrne was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum representing West Tyrone.^[2] He was appointed to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was only 1,161 votes away from taking the Westminster seat of West Tyrone at the 1997 general election.^[3]

He held his seat at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998,^[2] but was not re-elected in 2003.^[3] In 2005, he also lost his seat on the Council.^[4] In 2009, he was appointed Chairperson of the SDLP and was re-elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2011.

References

1. http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=2490&per=16&sel=1&ind=1&prv=1
2. "Biography - Joe Byrne". Northern Ireland Assembly.
3. "Big names missing from new Assembly". UTV.
4. "Omagh Council Election, 1997-2005". Northern Ireland Elections.