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Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland |
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Thegovernment of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority overNorthern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland.
Following thepartition of Ireland, Northern Ireland was recognised as a separate territory within the authority of the British Crown on 3 May 1921, under theGovernment of Ireland Act 1920.[1] The new autonomous Northern Ireland was formed from six of the nine counties ofUlster, being four counties with unionist majorities (Antrim, Armagh, Down and Londonderry), and Fermanagh and Tyrone two of the five Ulster counties which had nationalist majorities.[2] In large part unionists, at least in the north east region, supported its creation whilenationalists were opposed. Subsequently, on 6 December 1922, the island ofIreland became an independentdominion known as theIrish Free State but Northern Ireland immediately exercised its right toopt out of the new Dominion.
The first government of Northern Ireland was theExecutive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland, which exercised such authority from 1922 to 1972. ANorthern Ireland Executive was created following the signing of theSunningdale Agreement in 1974, while the currentNorthern Ireland Executive under the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, was created in theBelfast (Good Friday) Agreement, and has intermittently been in existence from 1999 to the present. Northern Ireland has also been governed by ministers under theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland during periods ofDirect Rule.