Northern Ireland Executive
Logo of the Northern Ireland Executive
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| Government overview | |
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| Formed | 2 December 1999 |
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Headquarters | Stormont Castle, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3TT |
| Employees | 27,712 (September 2011) |
| Annual budget | £10,329.1 million (current) £1,191.3 million (capital) for 2011–12 |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Website | northernireland.gov.uk |
The Northern Ireland Executive is the administrative branch of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement). The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the Assembly and is an example of a consociationalist government.
The Northern Ireland Executive consists of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and various ministers with individual portfolios and remits. The main Assembly parties appoint most ministers in the executive, except for the Minister of Justice who is elected by a cross-community vote. It is one of three devolved governments in the United Kingdom, the others being the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
On 9 May 2016, the number of ministries and departments of the Northern Ireland Executive was reduced, leaving the following departments:
At the same time, various departments were renamed as follows:
The following departments were dissolved:
In contrast with Westminster system cabinets, which generally need only be backed by a majority of legislators, ministerial positions in the Northern Ireland Executive are allocated to parties with significant representation in the Assembly. With the exception of justice, the number of ministries to which each party is entitled is determined by the D'Hondt system.
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