Spouse(s) Rachael Political party SDLP | Nationality Irish Name Colum Eastwood Preceded by Pol Callaghan Children Rosa | |
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Party Social Democratic and Labour Party Similar People Alasdair McDonnell, John Hume, Gerry Fitt, Paddy Devlin | ||
Colum eastwood future of the northern ireland political institutions
Colum Eastwood MLA (born 30 April 1983) is an Irish nationalist politician and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 2015. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011, and has since been re-elected.
Contents
- Colum eastwood future of the northern ireland political institutions
- Colum eastwood mla union flag on driving licences
- Background
- Political career
- Views
- References
Colum eastwood mla union flag on driving licences
Background
Colum Eastwood was born in Derry, where he was educated at St John's Primary School (Creggan) and at St Columb's College. He later attended the University of Liverpool, where he studied politics. He married Rachael Parkes in December 2013 and they live in Derry.
Political career
Eastwood was elected to Derry City Council in 2005, and elected for a one-year term as Mayor of Derry in June 2010. Aged 27, he was the youngest mayor of the city to date.
Following his election to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2011, Eastwood was appointed SDLP representative on the committee of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. He sits on the Northern Ireland Assembly committees on Standards and Privileges, and the Environment. He is the youngest SDLP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In 2012 he drew criticism from Unionists including Jim Allister after carrying the coffin at the paramilitary funeral of a former Irish National Liberation Army member in Derry. A masked Real Irish Republican Army gunman fired a volley of shots over the coffin, although Eastwood stated he was not present at the time of the gunfire. He defended his attendance at the funeral saying the deceased was a personal friend and added "I wasn't concerned at the time about who was standing beside me, or about what flag or otherwise was draped over the coffin." It later emerged that party colleague Mark H. Durkan also attended the funeral.
On 14 November 2015, Eastwood contested the leadership election held at the SDLP's annual conference. He beat the incumbent, Alasdair McDonnell, by 172 votes to 133. Eastwood was re-elected to the NI Assembly in 2016 and 2017, receiving 5000 and 7240 first preference votes, respectively.
Views
When a serving British soldier posted an offensive remark about the victims of Bloody Sunday on the internet, Eastwood said that "they [i.e. the Ministry of Defence] should dismiss this man from the army without delay."
