Alban Maginness (Irish: Ailbín Mag Aonghusa^{[citation needed]}; born 9 July 1950) is a nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.

Maginness was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland.^[1] He completed his secondary education at St. Malachy's College, Belfast. He then attended the New University of Ulster and subsequently Queen's University of Belfast where he trained to be a lawyer. In 1976, he was called to the Northern Ireland Bar and in 1984 to the Bar of Ireland.

While at university he became involved in the non-violent protests organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.^[2] Maginness participated in the famous civil rights march in Derry in 1972 in troops killed 14 unarmed civilians.^{[citation needed]} This event, now termed Bloody Sunday, has gone down in Northern Ireland politics as one of the turning points in The Troubles that contributed to the development of the Provisional IRA.

Maginness became increasingly involved in politics and became a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

He has been an elected member of Belfast City Council since 1985 and in 1997 he became the first nationalist politician to hold the position of Lord Mayor of Belfast. In 1998 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast North.

He was Chair of the SDLP from 1984 to 1991.

In November 2008 Maginness had his trademark moustache shaved off for BBC's Children in Need. ^[3]

Maginness is the SDLP candidate for the 2009 European Election.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Biography: NI Assembly
• SDLP Councillor Alban Maginness MLA: Official Website
• 2005 SDLP profile