Date formed 14 October 2002 Head of state Elizabeth II | Deputy head of government None No. of ministers None | |
Date dissolved 8 May 2007
(under the St Andrews Agreement) Head of government Secretary of State
John Reid (Oct 2002)
Paul Murphy (Oct 2002 - May 2005)
Peter Hain (May 2005 - Jun 2007)
Shaun Woodward (Jun - May 2007) | ||
Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 a new election was called in November 2003 in hope of restoring devolution, the election saw the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin emerge as the largest parties in the Assembly. The DUP refused to go into government with Sinn Féin meaning that direct rule would stay in place for another 5 years.
References
Executive of the 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA