Patricia Lewsley

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Patricia Lewsley

|honorific-suffix = CBE

|image =

|alt =

|caption =

|constituency_AM1 = Lagan Valley

|assembly1 = Northern Ireland

|majority1 =

|term_start1 = 25 June 1998

|term_end1 = 19 December 2006

|predecessor1 = New Creation

|successor1 = Marietta Farrell

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|3|3|df=yes}}

|birth_place = Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Social Democratic and Labour Party

|office = Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People

|term_start = 2007

|term_end = 2014

|predecessor = Nigel Williams

|successor = Koulla Yiasouma

|website = http://www.niccy.org

|footnotes =

}}

Patricia Lewsley-Mooney CBE (born 3 March 1957) is an Irish former politician who was the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People from 2007 to 2014. She was previously a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 1998 to 2006.

Background

Born in Belfast, Lewsley attended the University of Ulster before working as a cook and an advice worker. She is married with five children and six grandchildren.

Political career

She stood unsuccessfully for the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at the 1997 local elections in Belfast.

In 1998, she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Lagan Valley, a seat she held in 2003. During her time as an MLA she chaired All-Party Assembly Groups on Children and Young People, Disability, Diabetes, Anti-Poverty, and Ethnic minorities. On the day the Assembly was suspended in 2002, she had been due to introduce a Private Members Bill to strengthen child protection arrangements in Northern Ireland, by placing Area Child Protection Committees on a statutory footing.

In 2001, she was elected to Lisburn City Council. She was a co-founder of Shopmobility in Belfast and initiated the appointment of the only Disability/Equal Opportunity Officer in local government.

On 19 December 2006, Lewsley resigned from the Assembly in order to take up a post as Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People,{{cite web |url=http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/transitional/info_office/members.htm |title=Transitional Assembly - Members |accessdate=2007-03-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206015428/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/transitional/info_office/members.htm |archivedate=6 February 2007 |df=dmy-all }} and took up that post on 8 January 2007. She served two four-year terms as Commissioner and her final term came to an end in January 2015.{{cite web|title=The Commissioner|url=http://www.niccy.org/about-us/the-commissioner/|accessdate=6 February 2018}}

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to children's rights in Northern Ireland.{{London Gazette|issue=61092|supp=y|page=N9|date=31 December 2014}}[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391413/New_Year_Honours_List_2015.pdf 2015 New Year Honours List] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102104907/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391413/New_Year_Honours_List_2015.pdf |date=2 January 2015 }}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20060926041109/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs_03/lewsley_p.htm Northern Ireland Assembly – Biographies – Patricia Lewsley]
http://www.niccy.org

{{s-ttl

| title = MLA for Lagan Valley

| years = 1998–2007

}}

{{succession box|title=Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party|years=2004–2007|before=Alex Attwood|after=Eddie McGrady}}

Category:1957 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alumni of Ulster University

Category:Members of Lisburn City Council

Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003

Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007

Category:Children's Ombudsmen