Education
He completed his grammar education at Saint Malachy"s College, Belfast. He then attended the University of Ulster and Queen"s University of Belfast before being called to the Bar in 1976.
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Alban Maginness
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Whilst at university he became involved in the non-violent protests organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. Maginness participated in the famous civil rights march in Derry in 1972 at which British troops killed 14 unarmed civilians. 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 Ireland Republican Army. In 1998 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast North.
He was Chair of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 1984 to 1991.
In November 2008 Maginness had his trademark moustache shaved off for British Broadcasting Corporation"s Children in Need. Maginness was the Social Democratic and Labour Party candidate for the 2009 European Election.
In 2012, 2014 and 2015, Maginness was one of a minority of Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs to not vote in favour of same-sex marriage.
Views
Maginness accused the secretary of state of interning dissident republican Marian Price without trial, saying "We do not support putting people away in prison because of intelligence or because of some political point of view and we are convinced that she has been detained without trial because of that by the secretary of state.".
Membership
1st Northern Ireland Assembly. 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly. 3rd Northern Ireland Assembly.
4th Northern Ireland Assembly]
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 Catholic politician to hold the position of Lord Mayor of Belfast.
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Born
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Nationality
United Kingdom -
Political Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party