1. Alasdair McDonnell was born on 1 September 1949 and is a retired Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2011 to 2015, having served as deputy leader between 2004 and 2010.
12 Facts About Alasdair McDonnell
1. 2.
Alasdair McDonnell was the Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 2005 to 2017, and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast South from 1998 to 2015.
3.
Alasdair McDonnell graduated from medical school at University College Dublin in 1974.
4.
Alasdair McDonnell first won election to Belfast City Council in 1977, representing Belfast "Area A" which included the Short Strand and Upper Ormeau areas.
5.
Alasdair McDonnell first stood for the Westminster constituency of South Belfast in the 1979 general election and subsequently contested the constituency at each subsequent general election, though not in the 1986 by-election.
6.
Alasdair McDonnell was elected from the constituency to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum in 1996 and the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003.
7.
Alasdair McDonnell received 10,339 votes while the Democratic Unionist Party candidate Jimmy Spratt received 9,104 votes and Ulster Unionist Party candidate Michael McGimpsey received 7,263 votes.
8.
Alasdair McDonnell was then re-elected by an increased majority in the 2010 general election.
9.
Alasdair McDonnell said the party was run along "Soviet style" lines where there was a military structure and where former terrorists were being placed into positions of power.
10.
Alasdair McDonnell claimed many people voting for Sinn Fein were doing so as an act of defiance.
11.
On 14 November 2015, Alasdair McDonnell lost the leadership contest held at the SDLP's annual conference.
12.
On 8 June 2017, Alasdair McDonnell lost his South Belfast seat to Emma Little-Pengelly in the 2017 general election, despite increasing his vote from 2015.