When Ireland was divided in 1922, Northern Ireland got its own Northern Ireland Parliament. After the conflict known as the Troubles broke out in 1969, that Parliament was abolished in 1972.
In 1998 the Belfast Agreement, also called the Good Friday Agreement, was signed. Soon afterwards the present Northern Ireland Assembly was created. Under a power-sharing arrangement, the jobs of the ministers in charge of government departments are shared out between the main parties. The Assembly has 108 members, called MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), elected by proportional representation.
The Northern Ireland Assembly makes decisions on matters such as education, agriculture, the environment, health and social services.
The UK government has the power to suspend any of the devolved assemblies. It has done this to the Northern Ireland Assembly several times, when the leaders of the political parties there found it hard to work together.
Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Belfast, opened in 1932. The Northern Ireland Assembly meets here.
Photo: Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quiz
Where do the elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly meet?
The Northern Ireland Assembly meets at Stormont in Belfast. Holyrood is the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, the Senedd is the Welsh body in Cardiff, and Westminster is the UK Parliament in London.
Quiz
How many elected members (MLAs) does the Northern Ireland Assembly have?
The Northern Ireland Assembly has 108 elected members, called MLAs, chosen by proportional representation. 60 is the National Assembly for Wales, and 129 is the Scottish Parliament. The handbook gives 108; in fact the number was cut to 90 in 2017, but in the test, answer as the handbook says.
Quiz
The Northern Ireland Assembly was set up soon after which agreement, signed in 1998?
The Northern Ireland Assembly was set up soon after the 1998 Belfast Agreement, also called the Good Friday Agreement, with ministerial posts shared out under power-sharing. The other options are much older documents that have nothing to do with the Assembly.
