Preceded by Ian Paisley Role Politician Name David McIlveen | Religion Free Presbyterian Nationality British Party Democratic Unionist Party | |
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Born 11 February 1981 (age 43) ( 1981-02-11 ) Political party Democratic Unionist Party | ||
Sending away shame
David McIlveen (born 11 February 1981) is a Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland who was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the North Antrim constituency in 2011. The constituency has since been abolished.
He is the son of Rev. David McIlveen, a well-known minister in the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster who has been a leading figure in that church's campaigns against homosexuality and has since retired.
After welcoming the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, he made remarks to The Newsletter insinuating Palestinian prisoners were better treated than Israelis. Timothy Houston of Queen's University Belfast's Palestine Solidarity Society published an open letter accusing McIlveen of bias and over-looking human rights abuses. David McIlveen claims "close ties with Israel" following boyhood visits with his father, and is due to visit the region with leading Unionists in 2013.
As of August 2015, he is a Political Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.