Arlene Foster

Arlene Foster MLA
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 2008
First Minister	Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Nigel Dodds
First Minister of Northern Ireland Acting
In office 11 January 2010 – 3 February 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Martin McGuinness
Preceded by	Peter Robinson
Succeeded by	Peter Robinson
Minister for the Environment
In office 8 May 2007 – 9 June 2008
First Minister	Ian Paisley
Preceded by	Dermot Nesbitt
Succeeded by	Sammy Wilson
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 November 2003
Preceded by	Joan Carson
Personal details
Born	3 July 1970 (1970-07-03) Dernawilt, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Political party	Democratic Unionist Party (2004–present)
Other political affiliations	Independent Unionist (2003–2004) Ulster Unionist Party (Before 2003)
Spouse(s)	Brian Foster
Children	3
Alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
Religion	Church of Ireland (Anglican)
Website	Party profile

Arlene Isabel Foster (née Kelly) (b. 3 July 1970) is a politician in Northern Ireland. She is one of two Democratic Unionist Party MLAs representing the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She became Minister of the Environment on 8 May 2009 and was subsequently reshuffled into the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on 9 June 2008. Foster became the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland from 11 January 2010 until 3 February 2010.

Background

Foster was raised in the townland of Dernawilt, between Lisnaskea and Rosslea in County Fermanagh. Her experience with the Troubles began early in her life. A bomb was discovered under a bus she was travelling to school in. A night-time attempt was made to shoot her father, a Royal Ulster Constabulary reservist, at her home.

She was educated at Queen's University, Belfast where she graduated with an LL.B. degree. It was at Queen's University where her political career began after joining the Queen's Unionist Association. She served as the association's chairwoman from 1992 to 1993. After leaving Queen's University, she remained active in the Ulster Unionist Party, chairing its youth wing, the Ulster Young Unionist Council, in 1995. In 1996, she became an Honorary Secretary of the UUP's ruling body, the Ulster Unionist Council, a position which she held until her resignation from the UUP on 18 December 2003.

Early political life

She was elected as an Ulster Unionist in the 2003 Assembly elections, but shortly afterwards resigned from the party and joined the DUP, together with fellow Assembly members Jeffrey Donaldson and Norah Beare. She was selected as the DUP's candidate for Fermanagh & South Tyrone in the United Kingdom general election, 2005. Negotiations took place between the local branches of the DUP and UUP with the aim of finding an agreed unionist candidate. The negotiations broke down with neither party willing to accept the electoral dominance of the other; the UUP claiming Foster's defection to the DUP disguised the reality of the UUP's electoral strength, whilst the DUP pointed to change in the unionist political landscape following the 2003 Assembly election and 2004 European Parliament election. The UUP candidate was Tom Elliott. Foster finished second in the 2005 general election with 14,056 votes.

Minister of the Environment

In September 2007, a privately financed proposal for a new Giant's Causeway centre was given preliminary approval by the new Northern Ireland Environment Minister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) member Arlene Foster. Immediately afterwards, the public money that had been allocated to the Causeway development was frozen. The proposal resulted in a public row about the relationship between the private developer Seymour Sweeney and the DUP; Mr Sweeney is a member of the DUP, although both parties deny that Mr Sweeney has ever given to the party financially. On 29 January 2008, Mrs Foster announced that she had now decided against Mr Sweeney's proposal for a new visitors' centre, reversing her earlier position of "being minded" to approve it. Although the public funds for a Causeway scheme remain frozen for the moment, it seems highly likely that the publicly funded plan for the Causeway will now go ahead after all.

Office of the First and deputy First Minister

On 11 January 2010, she assumed the duties of the First Minister of Northern Ireland, as Peter Robinson stepped aside for a planned period of up to six weeks. Foster worked along with the deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. He returned earlier than planned, on 3 February 2010.

Personal life

Foster is married to Brian and has three children.

References and notes

Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by Joan Carson	Member of the Legislative Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone 2003–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Dermot Nesbitt	Minister of the Environment 2007–2008	Succeeded by Sammy Wilson
Preceded by Nigel Dodds	Minsiter of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 2008–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Peter Robinson	First Minister of Northern Ireland Acting 2010	Succeeded by Peter Robinson