John O'Dowd

John O'Dowd MLA
O'Dowd in 2021
Minister for Infrastructure
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 February 2024
First Minister	Michelle O'Neill
Preceded by	Himself (2022)
In office 16 May 2022 – 27 October 2022
First Minister	Vacant
Preceded by	Nichola Mallon
Succeeded by	Himself (2024)
Minister for Education
In office 16 May 2011 – 25 May 2016
First Minister	Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Caitríona Ruane
Succeeded by	Peter Weir
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
Acting 20 September 2011 – 31 October 2011 Serving with Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Martin McGuinness
Succeeded by	Martin McGuinness
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Upper Bann
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 November 2003
Preceded by	Dara O'Hagan
Member of Craigavon Borough Council
In office 21 May 1997 – 5 May 2011
Preceded by	Brendan McConville
Succeeded by	Mairéad O'Dowd
Constituency	Loughside
Personal details
Born	John Fitzgerald O'Dowd (1967-05-10) 10 May 1967 (age 57) Tullylish, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Sinn Féin
Spouse	Mary O'Dowd
Children	3
Occupation	Politician

John Fitzgerald O'Dowd (born 10 May 1967) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann since 2003.^[1] He has served as Minister for Infrastructure from May to October 2022, and again since 2024. He served as Minister for Education in the Stormont Executive from 2011 to 2016. He briefly took on the duties of deputy First Minister in 2011 while Martin McGuinness ran in the 2011 Irish presidential election.

In 2019, O'Dowd launched an unsuccessful bid to unseat Michelle O'Neill as Vice President of Sinn Féin at the party's ard fheis and received the endorsement of Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew. However, he refused to give media interviews to explain his decision to challenge O'Neill.^[2]