After two years, Stormont is set to return after the DUP struck a deal with the British government over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The DUP officer team was crucial in the decision process, having voted on the deal which was then presented to the much larger party executive on Monday night.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson says the deal, called Safeguarding the Union, is not perfect but was the best the party could get and that it has gotten rid of the Irish Sea border.
Democratic Unionist Party officers
Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, taking over from Edwin Poots in June 2021.
Sir Jeffrey is Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, having been an elected representative since 1997. He was a member of the Ulster Unionist Party until 2003 when he left the party alongside future first minister Arlene Foster. He was an independent unionist before joining the DUP the following year.
Gavin Robinson
Gavin Robinson was elected as MP for Belfast East in May 2015. He took the seat from the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long after the DUP and UUP entered into an electoral pact which saw only one unionist candidate stand in the constituency.
He became DUP deputy leader in June 2023.
Lord Morrow
Lord Maurice Morrow has been a DUP peer since 2006, having previously held office as a Stormont minister and assembly member for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency.
Lord Morrow is the chair of the party officers as well as Baron of Clogher Valley, County Tyrone.
Edwin Poots
The MLA for South Belfast is vice-chairman of the party officer board.
Edwin Poots was also the leader of the DUP for 21 days in 2021, succeeding Baroness Arlene Foster. He resigned after a party revolt over his choice of Paul Givan as first minister.
Michelle McIlveen
The assembly member for Strangford holds the role of party secretary and therefore sits on the party officer board.
She has previously held the role of education minister in the Executive as well as Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Regional Development.
Gregory Campbell
Gregory Campbell has been the MP for East Derry since June 2001 and holds the role of treasurer of the officer board.
Diane Forsythe
Diane Forsythe was elected in May 2022 in the South Down constituency and currently holds the role of party assistant secretary.
Forsythe quit the party in 2021 after Edwin Poots became leader, but returned under the leadership of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
Gordon Lyons
Gordon Lyons is the DUP’s finance spokesperson and a former Stormont minister for the economy.
He represents the East Antrim constituency, having been elected in 2015. He worked for five years as Sammy Wilson’s assistant.
Emma Little-Pengelly
Emma Little-Pengelly represents the Lagan Valley constituency and was co-opted to replace her party leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, days after he won the seat in the 2022 Assembly elections. Sir Jeffrey said he wanted to remain at Westminster as an MP until issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol were resolved.
Ms Little-Pengelly was appointed to the DUP’s officer board in June 2023. She was chosen by the DUP to be deputy First Minister alongside Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, who took on the role of First Minister, following the return of Stormont in February 2024.
Carla Lockhart
Carla Lockhart is MP for the Upper Bann constituency and the party Spokesperson for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
She is an advocate for unionist unity and has previously called for the unionist parties to work together to “deliver what our people want”.
Lord Dodds
Former DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Windsor Framework.
He was the North Belfast MP for 18 years and was unseated dramatically by Sinn Fein’s John Finucane in 2019. It is the first time a nationalist has held the seat.
Sammy Wilson
Sammy Wilson, chief whip of the DUP until February 2024 and MP for East Antrim, has been one of the DUP’s staunchest supporters of Brexit.
He has also been a vocal critic of the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework.
Yesterday in the House of Commons, Sammy Wilson called the British government “spineless” and “Brexit-betraying” following the new deal struck with the DUP this week.
- EU will have ‘some questions’ on DUP’s deal with British government, says Leo VaradkarOpens in new window
- Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says UK government command paper heralds removal of Irish Sea borderOpens in new window
- DUP MP Sammy Wilson calls British government ‘spineless’ and ‘Brexit-betraying’ as deal announcedOpens in new window
