17 Facts About Stephen Farry

Stephen Anthony Farry was born on 22 April 1971 and is a Northern Irish former politician who was the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from December 2016 to September 2024.

Stephen Farry served as the member of the Legislative Assembly for North Down from 2007 to 2019, and was Minister for Employment and Learning in the Northern Ireland Executive until the post was abolished in 2016.

Stephen Farry graduated from Queen's University, Belfast in 1992 with a BSSc in Politics and a PhD in International Relations in 2000.

Stephen Farry was elected to the Assembly in the 2007 election for North Down, having first been elected to North Down Borough Council in 1993.

Stephen Farry is a former General Secretary of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.

Stephen Farry was appointed an International Peace Scholar by the US Institute of Peace in 2005.

Stephen Farry held his North Down seat in the 2011 Assembly election, and was appointed Minister for Employment and Learning in the 4th Northern Ireland Executive.

In September 2011, Stephen Farry announced a freeze on tuition fees in Northern Ireland, with fees only subject to an inflationary rise.

Stephen Farry subsequently assumed positions on the Stormont Committee for the Economy and Business Committee, remaining on these until the collapse of the Assembly in February 2017.

At the 2017 Assembly election, Stephen Farry increased his share of first-preference votes in North Down to 7,014 and was re-elected on the first count.

Stephen Farry served as Alliance's Brexit spokesperson and has strongly advocated for a People's Vote, argued against a no-deal Brexit and maintained that the Northern Ireland backstop must be part of any Withdrawal Agreement should the UK leave the European Union.

On 8 September 2024, Stephen Farry announced that he will step down as deputy leader of the Alliance Party, after he lost his North Down seat in the general election earlier that year.

On 13 December 2019, Stephen Farry was elected to represent the constituency of North Down in the 2019 general election.

Stephen Farry replaced long-term incumbent Lady Hermon, who had stepped down at the election after eighteen years as an Ulster Unionist, and later independent, MP.

Stephen Farry made his maiden speech on 20 December 2019, starting his speech speaking in Irish to "reflect the shared traditions of Northern Ireland"; it was the first time since 1901 that a maiden speech had been conducted in Irish, when Thomas O'Donnell was chastised by the then-Speaker for not speaking in English in the chamber.

In May 2020, Stephen Farry was one of a number of politicians warned that he was under threat from loyalist paramilitaries.

Stephen Farry lost his seat in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.