Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
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| Department overview | |
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| Formed | 1 December 1999 |
| Preceding Department |
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| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Headquarters | Stormont Castle, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3TT |
| Employees | 380 (September 2011) |
| Annual budget | £78.6 million (current) & £11.2 million (capital) for 2011–12 |
| Website | www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk |
The Executive Office is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive. The Ministers with overall responsibility for the department are the First Minister and deputy First Minister.
The department was originally known as the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, with the same capitalisation used in the department's logo. Following a change in policy in 2007 (see First Minister and deputy First Minister), the word "deputy" was then spelt with a lower-case d, but the older version of the name is retained in the logo. In May 2016, the department was renamed the Executive Office as a result of the Fresh Start Agreement.
Until 9 January 2017, the First Minister and deputy First Minister were Arlene Foster (Democratic Unionist Party) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) respectively. On 9 January 2017, McGuinness resigned, forcing the vacancy of Foster's position under the rules of the Assembly. Both roles are currently vacant. They were assisted by two junior ministers: Alastair Ross (DUP) and Megan Fearon (Sinn Féin). Both roles are also currently vacant as a result of McGuinness' resignation.
The Executive Office's overall aim is to “deliver a peaceful, fair, equal and prosperous society". Its key stated objectives include: "driving investment and sustainable development"; "Tackling disadvantage and promoting equality of opportunity"; and the "effective operation of the institutions of government".
The office has the following main responsibilities:
The Executive Office's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
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