Executive of the 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly

Direct Rule (2002-2007) Executive of the 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly
Date formed	14 October 2002
Date dissolved	8 May 2007 (under the St Andrews Agreement)
People and organisations
Head of state	Elizabeth II
Head of government	Secretary of State John Reid (Oct 2002) Paul Murphy (Oct 2002 - May 2005) Peter Hain (May 2005 - Jun 2007) Shaun Woodward (Jun - May 2007)
Deputy head of government	None
No. of ministers	None
Member party	None
Status in legislature	Direct Rule
History
Election(s)	2003 assembly election
Legislature term(s)	2nd Assembly (never convened)
Predecessor	1st Executive of Northern Ireland
Successor	2nd Executive of Northern Ireland

Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 a new election was called in November 2003 in hope of restoring devolution, the election saw the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin emerge as the largest parties in the Assembly. The DUP refused to go into government with Sinn Féin meaning that direct rule would stay in place for another 5 years.

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