Chris Lyttle
{{Short description|Former Northern Ireland politician (born 1981)}}
{{about||the martial artist|Chris Lytle|the Scottish-born football coach|Chris Little}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Chris Lyttle
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Chris Lyttle IFA.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| constituency_AM = Belfast East
| assembly = Northern Ireland
| majority =
| term_start = 6 July 2010
| term_end = 28 March 2022
| predecessor = Naomi Long
| successor = Peter McReynolds
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|1|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Alliance
| residence = Belfast, Northern Ireland
| alma_mater = Queen's University Belfast (BA)
Harvard University
}}
Chris Lyttle (born 19 January 1981){{cite web|url=http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs_07/lyttle_c.htm|title=Biography - Chris Lyttle MLA|accessdate=5 August 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929122220/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs_07/lyttle_c.htm|archivedate=29 September 2010}} is an Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 2010 to 2022. He succeeded Naomi Long as Alliance Party MLA for Belfast East on 5 July 2010 and was elected to serve the constituency for another term on 7 May 2011, then again in 2016 and 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36710.stm |title=BBC News - Election 2011 - Northern Ireland - East Belfast |website=Bbc.co.uk|date=11 May 2011|accessdate=20 May 2016}} Lyttle retired at the 2022 Assembly Election.
Early life and career
Born and raised in East Belfast, Lyttle attended Belmont and Strandtown Primary Schools, Sullivan, and Queen's University Belfast, where he received a First Class Honours Degree in Government and Politics. Lyttle was awarded a Helen Ramsey Turtle Scholarship for Conflict Management study at the University of California and a Frank Knox Fellowship for postgraduate training in Public Policy & Administration at Harvard University. He is also an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program.{{cite web|url=http://www.chrislyttle.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=174|title=Chris Lyttle MLA: Leading change in East Belfast|website=ChrisLyttle.com|accessdate=20 May 2016|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412085154/http://www.chrislyttle.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=174|url-status=dead}}
Lyttle's professional experience includes work as Northern Ireland Assembly Constituency & Research Assistant to Alliance Party Deputy Leader, Naomi Long. He is known for his service to community organisations, business owners and other groups on a wide range of issues such as; housing, education, health, planning, employment and community safety. He has also served as Deputy Chair of the East Belfast District Policing Partnership and is a qualified Irish Football Association UEFA B Licence and Disability Football Coach, and is an active member of his local Church of Ireland.
Political career
Lyttle was Deputy Chair of the Assembly Committee with responsibility for the scrutiny of the policy of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. These include the Programme for Government, the Investment Strategy, Community Relations, Social Investment, Equality, Community Development, Children & Young People and Older People.{{cite web|url=http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/index/about-ofmdfm/about-the-department.htm|title=About the Department | About OFMDFM | Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister|accessdate=3 February 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321090720/http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/index/about-ofmdfm/about-the-department.htm|archivedate=21 March 2015}} Since May 2016, he has been vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Education.
Lyttle chairs the All Party Group (APG) on Cycling and the APG on Children and Young People, as well as vice chairs the APG on Postal Issues. He is a member of the following APG groups: Fairtrade, International Development, Trade Unions, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Football, Heart Disease & Stroke, Science and Technology, Human Trafficking, Rugby, UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security, Learning Disability, Cancer, Visual Impairment, Autism, Community and Voluntary Sector, and Ethnic Minority Communities.{{cite web|url=http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?%26aff%3D2466%26per%3D272%26sel%3D1%26ind%3D0%26prv%3D0|title=MLA Details: Mr Chris Lyttle|accessdate=3 February 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203145944/http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=2466&per=272&sel=1&ind=0&prv=0|archivedate=3 February 2015}}
On 29 October 2021, Lyttle announced that he would be stepping down at the 2022 Assembly election.{{Cite news |title=Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle to step down |language=en-GB |work=belfasttelegraph |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/alliance-mla-chris-lyttle-to-step-down-40996894.html |access-date=2022-04-18 |issn=0307-1235}}
Career after politics
In June 2022, Lyttle was appointed as the Head of Public Affairs at the Irish Football Association.{{cite web | url=https://www.irishfa.com/news/2022/june/lyttle-appointed-as-irish-fa-s-head-of-public-affairs | title=Lyttle appointed as Irish FA's Head of Public Affairs }}
He is now a Client Director at Brown O'Connor Communications, Northern Ireland's leading Public Affairs and Strategic Communications agency.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.chrislyttle.com/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831113008/http://www.chrislyttle.com/ |date=31 August 2012 }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|ni/ass}}
{{s-bef|before=Naomi Long}}
{{s-ttl|title=MLA for Belfast East|years=2010–2022}}
{{s-aft|after=Peter McReynolds}}
{{s-end}}
{{Alliance Party of Northern Ireland}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttle, Chris}}
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Category:Alliance Party of Northern Ireland MLAs
Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016
Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017
Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022