The Lady Dodds of Duncairn | |
|---|---|
 Dodds in 2014 | |
| Minister for the Economy | |
| In office 11 January 2020 – 14 June 2021 | |
| First Minister | Arlene Foster |
| Preceded by | Simon Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | Paul Frew |
| Member of the European Parliament forNorthern Ireland | |
| In office 4 June 2009 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Allister |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly forUpper Bann | |
| Assumed office 11 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Carla Lockhart |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly forBelfast West | |
| In office 26 November 2003 – 7 March 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Hendron |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer McCann |
| Member of Belfast City Council | |
| In office 5 May 2005 – 21 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Eric Smyth |
| Succeeded by | Brian Kingston |
| Constituency | Court |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-08-16)16 August 1958 (age 66) Rathfriland,Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Democratic Unionist Party |
| Spouse | Nigel, Lord Dodds of Duncairn |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Profession | Teacher |
Diane Jean Dodds, Baroness Dodds of Duncairn,MLA (born 16 August 1958),[1] is aDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician inNorthern Ireland. She served as aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) for theNorthern Ireland constituency from 2009 to 2020. She previously sat in theNorthern Ireland Assembly from 2003 to 2007 asMLA forWest Belfast. In 2020, Dodds returned to the Assembly as MLA forUpper Bann and is the DUP's Spokesperson forEducation and Skills.[2][3] She is married toLord Dodds of Duncairn, and as such she is styled as "The Right Honourable The Lady Dodds of Duncairn".
Dodds was born into a farming family inRathfriland,County Down, where she attendedBanbridge Academy before moving on to study atQueen's University Belfast. While studying, she met her future husband and future DUPMP forNorth Belfast,Nigel Dodds.[citation needed]
In 2003, Dodds was elected to theNorthern Ireland Assembly to representBelfast West. She was the firstUnionist elected to a regional assembly from West Belfast in more than 20 years (the last being Thomas Passmore to the 1982–86 Assembly).[citation needed] Her strongest support base during the election campaign was in theShankill Road area of the constituency.[citation needed]
Following her election to the Assembly, Dodds contested the Court District Electoral Area in the 2005 Local Government Elections. On that occasion she polled in excess of three electoral quotas and her surplus votes enabled the election of two running mates. In that election, she polled more votes than any other local government candidate in Northern Ireland.[citation needed] Despite increasing her vote from the 2003 Assembly election, she narrowly lost her seat toSinn Féin in 2007.[citation needed]
Dodds has also been active withinBelfast City Council, where she wasChief Whip of the 14-councillor DUP group.[4] She chaired the Policy and Resources Committee on the council and actively supported a campaign to host a homecoming parade for theRoyal Irish Regiment and other armed forces returning home from theIraq andAfghanistan wars.[4]
On 3 February 2009, Dodds was selected by the DUP as its candidate for the2009 election to theEuropean Parliament[5] and was elected anMEP on 8 June, representingNorthern Ireland.[citation needed]
Despite her election, the results were disappointing for Dodds and her party. The DUP's share of the vote fell 14% to just over 18%. While the Westminster expenses scandal and a perceived poor performance in live debates were cited as reasons for the poor result,[6] Dodds herself blamed the decline in DUP votes on former DUP memberJim Allister of theTraditional Unionist Voice (TUV) splinter party, who gained 66,000 first preference votes. Allister had accused the DUP of "betrayal" in going into government withSinn Féin. Sinn Féin topped the poll, the first time a republican party had done so in a European election in Northern Ireland. Dodds was elected third, behindJim Nicholson of theUUP,[6] and with fewer votes than the quota (the elections being held under thesingle transferable vote system).[6]
In September 2018, Dodds voted against a motion asserting the "existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded" - in line with most UKIP and Conservative Party MEPs.[7]
The DUP announced that followingCarla Lockhart's election to the House of Commons inDecember 2019, Dodds would succeed her as MLA for Upper Bann. In January 2020, Dodds was elected to the position of MLA for Upper Bann. She took on the MLA role full-time after theUK left the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020.
| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | MLA forBelfast West 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |