Danny Kennedy

Danny Kennedy (born 6 July 1959) is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and former MLA in Northern Ireland. He was formerly deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly Group and is a former Minister for Regional Development. On 12 May 2016, Danny Kennedy was electedas DeputySpeaker of The Northern Ireland Assembly. It was confirmed that he had lost his seat as an MLA for Newry and Armagh on 3 March 2017.

Kennedy is married with three children; Stephen, Phillip and Hannah. He was educated at Newry High School, and was an employee of British Telecom for 20 years before being elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Kennedy is Presbyterian and belongs to the Orange Order.

Kennedy has served at all levels, both local and within the wider party organisation of the Ulster Unionist Party, which he joined in 1974. In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in Newry and Armagh. He ran unsuccessfully for the UUP in the Westminster election in 1997, in which he polled over 18,000 votes against Seamus Mallon. He was elected to the Assembly in 1998.

Kennedy was UUP Assembly spokesman for education and chaired the Assembly Committee which both scrutinised and helped frame education legislation between 1998 and 2002.On the restoration of devolution in 2007 he became chairman of the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. His performance in this office garnered him the award for "Best Committee Chair" from the Slugger O'Toole blogsite in 2008.

Kennedy did not appeal an employment tribunal decision that found that a Protestant job applicant, Alan Lennon, had been discriminated against by Kennedy's predecessor Conor Murphy. Lennon was awarded £150,000 damages.

Kennedy lost his seat as an MLA in the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election, which was held on 2 March 2017.