Martin McGuinness

Martin McGuinness
McGuinness in January 2017
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
In office 8 May 2007 – 9 January 2017[a] Serving with Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, Arlene Foster
Preceded by	Peter Hain[b] (As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) Mark Durkan (2002)
Succeeded by	Michelle O'Neill (2020)
Minister of Education
In office 2 December 1999 – 14 October 2002
First Minister	David Trimble (FM) Seamus Mallon (dFM) Mark Durkan (dFM)
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Caitríona Ruane
Parliamentary representation Member of the Legislative Assembly for Foyle In office 6 May 2016 – 26 January 2017 Preceded by Maeve McLaughlin Succeeded by Elisha McCallion Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mid Ulster In office 25 June 1998 – 6 May 2016 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Linda Dillon Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster In office 1 May 1997 – 2 January 2013 Preceded by William McCrea Succeeded by Francie Molloy Majority 15,363 (37.6%)
Personal details
Born	James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (1950-05-23)23 May 1950 Derry, Northern Ireland
Died	21 March 2017(2017-03-21) (aged 66) Derry, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Sinn Féin
Spouse	Bernadette Canning ​ (m. 1974)​
Children	4
Military service
Allegiance	Official IRA Provisional IRA
Battles/wars	The Troubles
^a John O'Dowd served as Acting dFM from 20 September 2011 to 31 October 2011 while McGuinness campaigned in the 2011 Irish presidential election ^b During the periods of suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland assumed the responsibilities of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. The final Northern Ireland Secretary to act as First Minister was Peter Hain.

James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (Irish: Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa;^[1] 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017.^[2]

McGuinness served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster from 1997 until his resignation in 2013.^[3][4] Like all Sinn Féin MPs, McGuinness followed abstentionism in the Westminster Parliament. Working alongside US Special Envoy George Mitchell, McGuinness was also one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement which formally cemented the Northern Ireland peace process and established the Northern Ireland Assembly.^[5]

In 1998, McGuinness was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Mid Ulster. He served as Minister of Education in the Northern Ireland Executive under First Minister David Trimble from 1999 to 2002. Following the St Andrews Agreement and the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on 8 May 2007, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley becoming First Minister. In 2008 and 2016, he was reappointed as deputy First Minister to serve alongside Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster, respectively.^[6] He was Sinn Féin's candidate for President of Ireland in the 2011 Irish presidential election.^[7][8][9]

In the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election, McGuinness was elected as the MLA for Foyle. On 9 January 2017, McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal.^[10] He announced on 19 January that he would not be standing for re-election in the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election due to ill health. He reportedly suffered from amyloidosis, a condition that attacks the vital organs, and retired shortly before his death on 21 March 2017, aged 66.^[11][12]

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