State or region
deputy First Minister
How it's filled
- In plain words
- Nominated by the nominating officer of the largest party of the second-largest political designation
- Exact method
- Jointly holds office with the First Minister. Nominated by the nominating officer of the largest party of the second-largest political designation; there is no Assembly vote. Takes up office on affirming the pledge of office (Northern Ireland Act 1998 s.16A, as amended by the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006). Equal in status to the First Minister.
- Seats
- 1
Who holds it now
Emma Little-Pengelly DUP since February 2024
Report Source: data.niassembly.gov.uk,
checked (+2 more)
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk · checked Northern Ireland Act 1998 s.16A (as read by verify:gb-regions 2026-10-12): nominated by the nominating officer of the largest party of the second-largest designation, no Assembly vote. The Assembly does not choose the holder. For: deputy First Minister
- legislation.gov.uk · checked legislation.gov.uk, Northern Ireland Act 1998 s.16A (revised), read 2026-10-12: deputy First Minister nominated by the nominating officer of the largest party of the second-largest designation; no Assembly vote. Corrected selection_detail. For: deputy First Minister
- data.niassembly.gov.uk · checked Northern Ireland Assembly open data, GetAllCurrentMembers, read 2026-10-12: current 90 MLAs, constituency, party. For: deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, current term
- data.niassembly.gov.uk · checked NI Assembly open data, GetAllMemberRoles, read 2026-10-12: Emma Little-Pengelly, deputy First Minister, The Executive Office, from 2024-02-03. For: Emma Little-Pengelly, current term
- northernireland.gov.uk · checked Emma Little-Pengelly deputy First Minister since 3 Feb 2024; no change reported to 2026-10-12. Fallback: Wikipedia. For: Emma Little-Pengelly, current term