# Michelle O'Neill
**Michelle O'Neill** (born Michelle Doris, 1977) is an Irish republican politician who has served as First Minister of Northern Ireland since 3 February 2024, the first nationalist to hold that title in the history of the state.[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505) She is Vice President of Sinn Féin, which she has led in [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland) since succeeding [Martin McGuinness](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-mcguinness) in 2017, and was previously deputy First Minister from January 2020 to February 2022.[3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Michelle Doris, 1977; raised in Clonoe, County Tyrone[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) • [5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) |
| Party role | Vice President of Sinn Féin; the party's Northern Ireland leader since 2017[3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/) |
| Ministerial record | Agriculture and Rural Development 2011–2016; Health 2016–2017[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) |
| deputy First Minister | 11 January 2020 – 4 February 2022 (with an internal break in the register from June 2021)[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) |
| First Minister | Since 3 February 2024, the first nationalist in the post[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505) |
| 2022 election | Sinn Féin won 29% of first-preference votes, up 1.1% on 2017, becoming the largest party at Stormont for the first time[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) |
| Public standing | A 2024-reported approval rating of 53%, described as the most popular political leader in Northern Ireland[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) |
## Early life and background
O'Neill was born Michelle Doris in 1977 and was raised in the rural village of Clonoe in [County Tyrone](https://www.edgepedia.org/county-tyrone), in a family of prominent Irish republicans.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) Reporting on her family background differs on one point: according to a 2024 TIME profile she was born in [County Cork](https://www.edgepedia.org/county-cork), in the [Republic of Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/republic-of-ireland), where her family had moved from Clonoe before returning when she was four,[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) while the BBC describes her as born and raised in Clonoe.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) Her father, Brendan "Basil" Doris, was a former IRA prisoner who became a Sinn Féin councillor.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) • [5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/)
She lives in Clonoe with her two children, Saoirse and Ryan.[3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/)
## Entry into politics and local government
O'Neill joined [Sinn Féin](https://www.edgepedia.org/sinn-fein) in 1998, working as an adviser to Francie Molloy.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) In 2005 she won the Torrent electoral area seat on [Dungannon](https://www.edgepedia.org/dungannon) and South Tyrone Borough Council vacated by her father, and later became the first woman to hold the borough's mayoralty.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) She sat on the council from 2005 to 2010.[3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/)
She was first elected to the [Northern Ireland Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland-assembly) in 2007, representing Mid Ulster, a seat she has held since.[6](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/michelle-oneill-northern-irelands-incoming-first-minister-2024-02-02/) • [3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/) In her first Assembly term she was Deputy Chair of the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety from 9 May 2007.[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216)
## Ministerial roles in the Northern Ireland Executive
O'Neill was Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 16 May 2011 to 30 March 2016.[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) The Guardian notes that the party "hopscotched her over more senior colleagues" with these appointments.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals) The official Assembly register dates her appointment as Minister of Health to 25 May 2016, serving until the executive's collapse on 2 March 2017; the Guardian's profile gives 2015 for the health promotion, but the register is the authoritative record.[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals)
**Health minister.** Her tenure coincided with mounting hospital waiting lists and a crisis in general practice. She produced a 10-year plan to transform a health service she described as at "breaking point", following the Bengoa report's findings.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166)
## Leadership of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland
In January 2017 Martin McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister over the DUP's handling of the [Renewable Heat Incentive](https://www.edgepedia.org/renewable-heat-incentive) scheme; because the two top offices are joint and mutually dependent, his resignation collapsed the executive.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) After McGuinness's death O'Neill succeeded him as the party's Northern Ireland leader in 2017 and later became Sinn Féin's Vice President.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) She led the party's two election campaigns in 2017 and both its Local Government and European election campaigns in 2019.[3](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/)
When Stormont returned in January 2020 after three years of deadlock, O'Neill took office as deputy First Minister as the Covid pandemic was beginning.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) The Assembly register records her deputy First Ministership ending on 4 February 2022, when the executive collapsed again.[1](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216)
**The 2022 breakthrough.** In the May 2022 Assembly election Sinn Féin won 29% of first-preference votes, an increase of 1.1% on its 2017 share, overtaking the [Democratic Unionist Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/democratic-unionist-party) (DUP) as the largest party at Stormont for the first time; the party repeated the achievement in local council elections the following year.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166)
## First Minister of Northern Ireland (2024– )
O'Neill's appointment as first minister in February 2024 came after the British government struck a deal with the DUP, whose assent is required under Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements.[6](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/michelle-oneill-northern-irelands-incoming-first-minister-2024-02-02/)
**A historic joint office.** Under the [Good Friday Agreement](https://www.edgepedia.org/good-friday-agreement) settlement, the first and deputy first ministers hold a joint office with equal power. Although the two roles are formally equal, O'Neill becoming first minister was widely seen as a landmark moment for [Irish nationalism](https://www.edgepedia.org/irish-nationalism).[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505) She shares the office with DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/)
In her maiden speech she said she was "sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict, without exception", and that despite her support for a united Ireland she would "serve everyone equally", making reconciliation an overarching theme.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505)
**Executive action after February 2024.** In her keynote address to the 2024 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, O'Neill listed the executive's work in its first eight months: ensuring fairer pay for public sector workers, beginning delivery of affordable childcare, producing a plan to protect [Lough Neagh](https://www.edgepedia.org/lough-neagh), publishing a draft Programme for Government, a plan to end violence against women and girls, and advancing the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh.[8](https://sinnfein.ie/news/michelle-oneill-keynote-address-sinn-fein-ard-fheis-2024/)
## Political positions and controversies
**Irish unity.** O'Neill advocates a border poll on Irish unity, saying "this is the decade where I believe the question should be put to the people". She has assured unionists that British and Irish identity would live side by side in a united Ireland.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) Polling cited alongside her leadership shows the distance still to travel: a recent poll found 39% support for reunification in Northern Ireland against 49% opposed, while a 2022 study found 45% expected a united Ireland in coming decades.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/)
**Commemoration and legacy.** Her handling of the Troubles' legacy has drawn criticism. In 2017 she addressed a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the killing of eight IRA men by the SAS at [Loughgall](https://www.edgepedia.org/loughgall), defending her attendance by saying she would "always remember and commemorate our patriot dead".[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) In August 2022 she told the BBC's Red Lines podcast that there had been "no alternative" to IRA violence, drawing criticism from victims' relatives and opposition politicians; she defends the IRA's armed campaign up to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals) Ahead of taking office she also vowed to respect the royals.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals)
## Reception and significance
O'Neill's ascent marks a shift in Northern Ireland's politics: a nationalist, and a republican from an IRA family, now holds the top title while governing in tandem with a unionist deputy.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals) • [5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) With a 53% approval rating reported in 2024, she is described as the most popular political leader in Northern Ireland.[5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/) Her trajectory, from a council seat inherited from her father in 2005 to First Minister.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166) • [5](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/)
## References
1. [MLA Details: Ms Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland Assembly AIMS register](https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?c=2&per=216)
2. [Stormont: Michelle O'Neill makes history as nationalist first minister, BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68180505)
3. [Michelle O'Neill MLA, Sinn Féin official biography](https://sinnfein.ie/representatives/michelle-oneill-mla/)
4. [Michelle O'Neill: Who is Northern Ireland's new first minister? BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60251166)
5. [Exclusive: Meet Northern Ireland's First Nationalist Leader, TIME, 2024](https://time.com/6983213/ireland-northern-michelle-oneill-sinn-fein/)
6. [Who is Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland's incoming first minister? Reuters, 2 February 2024](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/michelle-oneill-northern-irelands-incoming-first-minister-2024-02-02/)
7. [Michelle O'Neill: Sinn Féin leader from IRA family who has vowed to respect royals, The Guardian, 3 February 2024](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/michelle-oneill-sinn-fein-leader-ira-family-vow-respect-royals)
8. [Michelle O'Neill Keynote Address, Sinn Féin Ard Fheis 2024](https://sinnfein.ie/news/michelle-oneill-keynote-address-sinn-fein-ard-fheis-2024/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › British politicians › Ministers and government officials*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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