Mervyn Storey

{{Short description|British politician}} {{for|the Australian footballer|Merv Storey}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Mervyn Storey | honorific_suffix = | image = Mervyn Storey.jpg | alt = | caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|09|4|df=yes}} | birth_place = Armoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic Unionist Party | spouse = Christine Storey | children = 3 | website = }}

'''Robert Mervyn Storey''' (born 4 September 1964), usually known as '''Mervyn Storey''', is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, serving as a Causeway Coast and Glens Councillor for the Ballymoney DEA since 2022. Storey previously served in the Northern Ireland Executive, where he was Minister for Social Development from 2014 to 2016, and then Minister for Finance between January and March 2016. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 2003 to 2022.<ref name="The Balleymoney Times">{{cite web |title=Ballymoney Times – Storey congratulates A-level students |url=http://www.ballymoneytimes.co.uk/community/storey-congratulates-a-level-students-1-4184295 |work=The Ballymoney Times |access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="Newsletter">{{cite news |last=Murray |first=Gemma |date=7 May 2022 |title=Election 2022: Mervyn Storey loses seat after 19 years |url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/election-2022-mervyn-storey-loses-seat-after-19-years-3684767 |website=News Letter |access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>

==Biography== Robert Mervyn Storey was born in Armoy, County Antrim on 4 September 1964. His father Nat was a founder member of the Protestant Unionist Party and an election worker for Ian Paisley.<ref name="BT Profile">{{cite news|last1=Kane|first1=Alex|title=Mervyn Storey: We profile the new Finance Minister|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/mervyn-storey-we-profile-the-new-finance-minister-34368371.html|accessdate=17 January 2016|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=16 January 2016}}</ref> Storey was educated at Armoy Primary School and at Ballymoney High School. On leaving school in 1980 he worked in a bacon factory, rising to production manager. In 2000 he left the company and joined Ian Paisley's constituency office in Ballymena.<ref name="BT Profile"/>

==Family== Storey is married to Christine and has three children.<ref name="BT Profile"/>

==Political activity== Storey is a former member of the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland. Storey was elected to Ballymoney council in 2001 and again in 2005. He is a member of the Ballymoney Local Strategy Partnership and Regional Partnership for Northern Ireland. In 2000 he served as campaign manager for William McCrea's by-election for South Antrim and also in 2001 for Gregory Campbell and Ian Paisley's elections in East Londonderry and North Antrim respectively. All three campaigns were successful.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

Storey was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2003 elections. From 2008 to 2014 he was chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Education.<ref name=NIA>{{cite web|title=Mr Mervyn Storey|url=http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=2288&per=154&c=2|website=Northern Ireland Assembly}}</ref> He lost his Assembly seat in the election held on 5 May 2022, thus ceasing to be an MLA.<ref name="Newsletter"/>

From September 2014 to January 2016 Storey was Minister for Social Development. He resigned from this post several times during September and October 2015 in the context of a political crisis.<ref name=NIA/><ref>{{cite web|title=Simon Hamilton resigns four times in past three weeks|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34426811|publisher=BBC|accessdate=17 January 2016|date=2 October 2015}}</ref>

In January 2016 Storey was appointed Minister for Finance & Personnel.<ref name="BT Profile"/><ref name=NIA/> As a young earth creationist,<ref name="BT Profile"/> and a member of the "Council of Reference" of the creationist Caleb Foundation,<ref>[http://www.calebfoundation.org/ Caleb Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307200052/http://www.calebfoundation.org/ |date=7 March 2015 }} website</ref> he petitioned the then Northern Irish education minister, Caitríona Ruane, to have intelligent design taught in schools in Northern Ireland, as well as objecting to an exhibition on evolution in the Ulster Museum and signs at the Giants Causeway in his North Antrim constituency.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11637413 Oh, for a honeymoon], The Economist, 26 June 2008, retrieved 13 February 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/darwin-display-at-museum-angers-creationist-mla-14184873.html Darwin display at museum angers creationist MLA], The Belfast Telegraph, 13 February 2009, retrieved 13 February 2009</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/feb/12/northern-ireland-charles-darwin-courts Belfast museum faces legal battle over Charles Darwin exhibition], The Guardian, 12 February 2009, retrieved 20 May 2009</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|ni/ass}} {{s-bef | before = James Leslie }} {{s-ttl | title = MLA for North Antrim | years = 2003–2022 }} {{s-aft|after=Patricia O’Lynn}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=Minister for Social Development | before=Nelson McCausland | after=Lord Morrow| years=2014–2016}} {{succession box | title=Minister for Finance & Personnel | before=Arlene Foster | after=Máirtín Ó Muilleoir | years=2016}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, Mervyn}} Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999) Category:Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Category:Politicians from County Antrim Category:Presbyterians from Northern Ireland Category:Christian Young Earth creationists Category:Ministers of finance and personnel of Northern Ireland Category:People from Armoy