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Name: | William Hay |
| Contact Address: | Room 39 |
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| Telephone Number: | (028) 90 521130 | |
| E-Mail Address: | speaker@niassembly.gov.uk | |
| Brief outline of career: | Mr William Hay was elected Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2007. Mr Hay is the first Speaker to have been elected directly by the Members of the Assembly, his predecessors Lord Alderdice and Mrs Eileen Bell having been appointed by Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland.
He was educated at Faughan Valley High School, Londonderry, and his career prior to full-time politics was in the marine engineering and haulage industries. His political career began with his election as a DUP representative to Derry City Council in 1981, in which he has served continuously since, and of which he was Deputy Mayor in 1992 and Mayor in 1993. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly upon its establishment in 1998, representing the Foyle constituency, and has been returned to the Assembly at each election since then. His family has been well known in political circles in the Mr Hay has served on a range of bodies in the statutory and voluntary sector, including the Western Education & Library Board, the Northern Ireland Housing Council, the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commission, and the Policing Board. He is also well known for his contribution over many years working with various organisations in finding an agreed way forward on parading issues in the city of Londonderry. My Hay spends his leisure time by walking, reading and enjoying the company of his family. |