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Northern Irish politician from Sinn Féin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher John Hazzard (born 20 August 1984)[1] is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down since the 2017 United Kingdom general election, when he defeated incumbent Margaret Ritchie of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.[2][3][4][5] Due to Sinn Féin's policy of abstentionism with regard to the Westminster Parliament, Hazzard has not taken his seat.
Chris Hazzard | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hazzard in 2023 | |
| Member of Parliament for South Down | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Margaret Ritchie |
| Majority | 9,280 (20.5%) |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Down | |
| In office 13 April 2012 – 9 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Willie Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Emma Rogan |
| Minister for Infrastructure | |
| In office 25 May 2016 – 26 January 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Michelle McIlveen |
| Succeeded by | Nichola Mallon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christopher John Hazzard 20 August 1984 Drumaness, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
Christopher John Hazzard[6] was born in Drumaness, County Down, in 1984.[2] The eldest of four siblings, he attended Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock, before going to Queen's University Belfast.[2]
Hazzard previously worked as a press officer for Sinn Féin.
He was selected by his party as a member (MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent the South Down constituency in April 2012. He replaced his party colleague Willie Clarke, who had retired to concentrate on his local council work.[7] Hazzard was the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland from May 2016 until the Executive's collapse in January 2017. He was also a member of the Education Committee from 2012 to 2016 and the Public Accounts Committee from 2013 to 2014.[2]
At the snap general election held on 8 June 2017, he was elected as the MP for South Down, defeating the incumbent SDLP MP, Margaret Ritchie. It is the first time that his party have represented the seat.[2]
On Sep 30, 2024, In response to Israel's ground operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah, Hazzard criticized the West on X, saying "If there was even a drop of consistency & integrity amongst Western political leaders they would now be sending billions in aid to the Lebanese resistance, as they did with Ukraine. They won’t."
Hazzard is a Gaelic Athletic Association member and PhD candidate at Queen's University Belfast.[8] He was, at the time of his selection, the youngest MLA.
He is married to Lisa, and the couple have a daughter, Eva, who was born in August 2015.[2][9]
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