{{Short description|British politician (born 1945)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Use British English|date=May 2012}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Robin Newton | honorific_suffix = MBE | image = Robin Newton 2017.jpg | caption = Newton in 2017 | office = 5th Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly | deputy = Caitríona Ruane<br />Patsy McGlone<br />Danny Kennedy | term_start = 12 May 2016 | term_end = 11 January 2020 | predecessor = Mitchel McLaughlin | successor = Alex Maskey | office1 = Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly | term_start1 = 20 January 2015 | term_end1 = 12 May 2016 | predecessor1 = Mitchel McLaughlin | successor1 = Caitríona Ruane | office2 = Junior Minister at the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister | term_start2 = 1 July 2009 | term_end2 = 16 May 2011 | alongside2 = Gerry Kelly | predecessor2 = Jeffrey Donaldson | successor2 = Jonathan Bell | office3 = Member of the Legislative Assembly <br /> for Belfast East | assembly3 = Northern Ireland | term_start3 = 26 November 2003 | term_end3 = 28 March 2022 <!-- The Assembly was dissolved on 28 March at 0:01am, not 27 March --> | predecessor3 = Sammy Wilson | successor3 = David Brooks | office4 = High Sheriff of Belfast | term_start4 = January 1999 | term_end4 = January 2000 | predecessor4 = Jim Clarke | successor4 = Tom Campbell | office5 = Member of <br/> Belfast City Council | constituency5 = Victoria | term_start5 = 15 May 1985 | term_end5 = 22 May 2014 | predecessor5 = ''New district'' | successor5 = ''District abolished'' | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|12|21|df=y}} | birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland | party = Democratic Unionist Party | spouse = Carole Newton | children = 2 | website = [http://www.robinnewton.co.uk/ Robin Newton MLA] }}
'''Robert "Robin" Gray Newton''' MBE (born 21 December 1945) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2003 to 2022, and was a junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister from 2009 to 2011.
Newton is a chief executive of a management consultancy company and a member of the East Belfast Partnership Board, which promotes economic development in East Belfast. He served as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 12 May 2016 until 11 January 2020. He and his wife Carole have two children.<ref name="officialwebsite"/>
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours "for services to Local Government and to the community in Northern Ireland."<ref name=GBR>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=58729 |date=14 June 2008 |pages=21 |supp=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MLA delighted at MBE |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/mla-delighted-at-mbe/28408253.html |website=Belfast Telegraph |date=18 June 2008}}</ref>
==Political career== Newton was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. Newton is chairman of the Waterfront Hall board. He was an unsuccessful candidate in East Belfast in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum election.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/96eb.htm |title=1996 Candidates - East Belfast |website=Ark.ac.uk |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=10 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110230345/http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/96eb.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He was elected as a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast in 2003.<ref name="officialwebsite">{{cite web |url=http://www.robinnewton.co.uk/biography.html |title=Biography |website=Robinnewton.co.uk |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904205804/http://robinnewton.co.uk/biography.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
After the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was the deputy chair of the Development Committee. He takes particular interest in housing matters, the elderly, health services and employment opportunities. Newton is the DUP party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dup.org.uk/default.htm |title=Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - Northern Ireland |publisher=DUP |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=15 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315125612/http://www.dup.org.uk/default.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> On 12 May 2016 he was elected Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-36270828 |title=NI Assembly: Foster and McGuinness are NI first and deputy first ministers, UUP to form opposition |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627211307/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-36270828 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2022, Newton was deselected as a DUP candidate and as a result did not contest the 2022 Assembly election.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Brendan |date=2022-02-02 |title=DUP MLA 'deselected' as election candidate for East Belfast |url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-mla-robin-newton-deselected-22956687 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=BelfastLive |language=en}}</ref>
===Executive=== First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson announced on 22 June 2009 that Robin Newton would replace Jeffrey Donaldson as junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister at the beginning of the new assembly term in September 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0622/dup.html |title=DUP reshuffles NI Assembly ministers |website=Rte.ie |date=2009-06-24 |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=25 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625032118/http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0622/dup.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This reshuffle took place due to Robinson's plans to phase out "double jobbing" amongst elected representatives. Newton was sworn in as junior minister by the speaker, William Hay, on 1 July 2009, and served until 16 May 2011. From 2011 until 2012, he was a Political Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nipolicingboard.org.uk/previous-policing-board-members |title=Previous Policing Board Members | Northern Ireland Policing Board |website=Nipolicingboard.org.uk |accessdate=2017-03-05 |archive-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207114004/https://www.nipolicingboard.org.uk/previous-policing-board-members |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-civ}} {{succession box | title=High Sheriff of Belfast | before=Jim Clarke | after=Tom Campbell | years=1999–2000}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=Junior Minister | before=Jeffrey Donaldson | after=Jonathan Bell| years=2009–2011}}
{{s-par|ni/ass}} {{s-bef|before=Sammy Wilson}} {{s-ttl|title=MLA for Belfast East|years=2003–2022}} {{s-inc}}
{{s-bef|before=Mitchel McLaughlin}} {{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly|years=2016–2020}} {{s-aft|after = Alex Maskey }} {{s-end}}
{{Democratic Unionist Party}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Robin}} Category:High sheriffs of Belfast Category:Living people Category:Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Category:Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999) Category:Members of Belfast City Council Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:1945 births Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Category:Politicians from Belfast Category:Speakers of the Northern Ireland Assembly Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire