Diane Dodds
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Diane Dodds MEP |
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| Member of the European Parliament for Northern Ireland |
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Assumed office 4 June 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Allister |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West |
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In office 26 November 2003 – 7 March 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Joe Hendron |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer McCann |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 August 1958 Rathfriland, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Democratic Unionist Party |
| Spouse(s) | Nigel Dodds |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Religion | Free Presbyterian |
| Website | Official Website |
Diane Jean Dodds (born 16 August 1958) is a Democratic Unionist Party politician from Northern Ireland, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Northern Ireland constituency.
Dodds was born into a farming family in Rathfriland, County Down where she attended Banbridge Academy before moving on to study at Queen's University Belfast. While studying, she met her future husband and future DUP MP for North Belfast, Nigel Dodds.
Dodds qualified as a teacher and taught history and English in Laurelhill High School, Lisburn. In 2003, she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast West. She was the first Unionist elected to a regional assembly from West Belfast in more than 20 years (the last being Thomas Passmore to the 1982-6 Assembly). Her strongest support base during the election campaign was in the Shankill Road area of the constituency.
Following her election to the Assembly, Dodds contested the Court District Electoral Area in the 2005 Local Government Elections. On that occasion she polled in excess of three electoral quotas and her surplus votes enabled the election of two running mates. In that election, she polled more votes than any other local government candidate in Northern Ireland. Despite increasing her vote from the 2003 Assembly election, she narrowly lost her seat to Sinn Féin in 2007.
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