Patricia Lewsley-MooneyCBE (born 3 March 1957) is an Irish former politician who was theNorthern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People from 2007 to 2014. She was previously aSocial Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) forLagan Valley from 1998 to 2006.

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Born inBelfast, Lewsley attended theUniversity of Ulster before working as acook and anadvice worker. She is married with five children and six grandchildren.

She stood unsuccessfully for theSocial Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at the1997 local elections inBelfast.

In 1998, she was elected to theNorthern Ireland Assembly representing theSocial Democratic and Labour Party inLagan Valley, a seat she held in 2003. During her time as an MLA she chaired All-Party Assembly Groups on Children and Young People,Disability,Diabetes,Anti-Poverty, andEthnic minorities. On the day the Assembly wassuspended in 2002, she had been due to introduce a Private Members Bill to strengthenchild protection arrangements inNorthern Ireland, by placing Area Child Protection Committees on a statutory footing.

In2001, she was elected toLisburn City Council. She was a co-founder ofShopmobility in Belfast and initiated the appointment of the only Disability/Equal Opportunity Officer in local government.

On 19 December 2006, Lewsley resigned from the Assembly in order to take up a post as Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People,^[1] and took up that post on 8 January 2007. She served two four-year terms as Commissioner and her final term came to an end in January 2015.^[2]

She was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to children's rights in Northern Ireland.^[3][4]

• Northern Ireland Assembly – Biographies – Patricia Lewsley
• http://www.niccy.org

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• 1957 births
• Living people
• Alumni of Ulster University
• Members of Lisburn City Council
• Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003
• Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007
• Children's ombudsmen
• Ombudsmen in Northern Ireland
• Politicians from Belfast
• Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs
• Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
• 20th-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
• Women councillors in Northern Ireland
• 21st-century British civil servants
• 21st-century British women civil servants
• Women civil servants from Northern Ireland

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