Deirdre Hargey

Deirdre Hargey (born 1980) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South since 2020. She previously served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2018 to 2019, and as a Belfast City Councillor for the Botanic (formerly Laganbank) DEA from 2011 to 2020. Hargey was Minister for Communities from 2020 to 2022 and briefly served as interim Minister for the Economy in May 2024.

Career Hargey was first elected to Belfast City Council at the 2011 local elections, representing the Laganbank District. She was later re-elected to the successor Botanic District in 2014.

She was re-elected to Belfast City Council at the 2019 election.

Hargey was co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2020, to replace Máirtín Ó Muilleoir. She was appointed as Minister for Communities at the formation of the 6th Executive on 11 January 2020. On 15 June 2020, Carál Ní Chuilín replaced her as minister on a temporary basis, due to Hargey's ill health.

On 8 May 2024, she was appointed as Minister for the Economy on a temporary basis, due to Conor Murphy standing down for medical reasons. She affirmed the pledge of office on 9 May 2024.

Hargey is the Sinn Fein justice spokesperson and the current Deputy Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Justice and also sits on the Committee for Finance.