Robin Newton

Robin Newton MBE
Newton in 2017
5th Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
In office 12 May 2016 – 11 January 2020
Deputy	Caitríona Ruane Patsy McGlone Danny Kennedy
Preceded by	Mitchel McLaughlin
Succeeded by	Alex Maskey
Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
In office 20 January 2015 – 12 May 2016
Preceded by	Mitchel McLaughlin
Succeeded by	Caitríona Ruane
Junior Minister at the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
In office 1 July 2009 – 16 May 2011 Serving with Gerry Kelly
Preceded by	Jeffrey Donaldson
Succeeded by	Jonathan Bell
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast East
In office 26 November 2003 – 28 March 2022
Preceded by	Sammy Wilson
Succeeded by	David Brooks
High Sheriff of Belfast
In office 1999–2000
Preceded by	Jim Clarke
Succeeded by	Tom Campbell
Member of Belfast City Council
In office 15 May 1985 – 22 May 2014
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	District abolished
Constituency	Victoria
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-21) 21 December 1945 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Democratic Unionist Party
Spouse	Carole Newton
Children	2
Website	Robin Newton MLA

Robert "Robin" Gray Newton MBE (born 21 December 1945) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2003 to 2022, and was a junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister from 2009 to 2011.

Newton is a chief executive of a management consultancy company and a member of the East Belfast Partnership Board, which promotes economic development in East Belfast. He served as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 12 May 2016 until 11 January 2020. He and his wife Carole have two children.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours "for services to Local Government and to the community in Northern Ireland."

Political career

Newton was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. Newton is chairman of the Waterfront Hall board. He was an unsuccessful candidate in East Belfast in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum election. He was elected as a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast in 2003.

After the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was the deputy chair of the Development Committee. He takes particular interest in housing matters, the elderly, health services and employment opportunities. Newton is the DUP party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. On 12 May 2016 he was elected Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In 2022, Newton was deselected as a DUP candidate and as a result did not contest the 2022 Assembly election.

Executive

First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson announced on 22 June 2009 that Robin Newton would replace Jeffrey Donaldson as junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister at the beginning of the new assembly term in September 2009. This reshuffle took place due to Robinson's plans to phase out "double jobbing" amongst elected representatives. Newton was sworn in as junior minister by the speaker, William Hay, on 1 July 2009, and served until 16 May 2011. From 2011 until 2012, he was a Political Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.