Joe Byrne | |
---|---|
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 | [1] | 29 November 1953
Political party | SDLP |
Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
Joe Byrne (born 29 November 1953) is a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone between 1998 and 2003, and again from 2011 to 2015.
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 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, [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.