Jonathan Stephenson

Politician from Northern Ireland (1950–2011)

Jonathan Stephenson
Born	2 November 1950 England
Died	21 December 2011
Nationality	Irish
Education	Winchester College, Stanbridge Earls School, Queen's University Belfast
Political party	Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Jonathan Stephenson (2 November 1950 – 21 December 2011) was an Irish nationalist politician.

A Protestant born in England and educated at Winchester College and Stanbridge Earls School, Stephenson moved to Northern Ireland, where he studied History and Politics at Queen's University Belfast. He joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the early 1980s, and became its first official press officer.^[1]

Stephenson was elected to Belfast City Council at the 1993 Northern Ireland local elections, representing the SDLP in the Castle area.^[2] He also became Deputy Chairperson of the SDLP,^[3] serving from 1995 to 1998.^[1]

In 1995, he became the party's Chairperson, serving until 1998.^[4] At the Northern Ireland Forum election in 1996, he did not stand in a constituency, but was elected as one of two regional list candidates for the SDLP,^[5] but he lost his council seat in 1997.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Alasdair McDonnell pays tribute to ex-chairman Jonathan Stephenson", BBC News, 23 December 2011
^ ^a ^b Belfast City Council Elections 1993-2005, Northern Ireland Elections
^ Politics 97: Social Democratic and Labour Party, BBC
^ Political Leaders: Northern Ireland Archived 26 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ The 1996 Forum Elections and the Peace Process, Northern Ireland Elections

Northern Ireland Forum
New forum	Regional Member 1996–1998	Forum dissolved
Party political offices
Preceded by Mark Durkan	Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 1995–1998	Succeeded by Jim Lennon

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Leadership
Leader	Gerry Fitt (1970–1979) John Hume (1979–2001) Mark Durkan (2001–2010) Margaret Ritchie (2010–2011) Alasdair McDonnell (2011–2015) Colum Eastwood (2015–present)
Deputy Leader	John Hume (1970–1979) Seamus Mallon (1979–2001) Bríd Rodgers (2001–2004) Alasdair McDonnell (2004–2010) Patsy McGlone (2010–2011) Dolores Kelly (2011–2015) Fearghal McKinney (2015–2016) Nichola Mallon (2017–2022)
Chair	Eddie McGrady (1971–1973) Denis Haughey (1973–1978) Bríd Rodgers (1978–1980) Sean Farren (1980–1984) Alban Maginness (1984–1990) Mark Durkan (1990–1995) Jonathan Stephenson (1995–1998) Jim Lennon (1998–2000) Alex Attwood (2000–2004) Patricia Lewsley (2004–2007) Eddie McGrady (2007–2009) Joe Byrne (2009–2012) John Dallat (2012–2013) John Clayton (2013–2015) Ronan McCay (2015–2017) Colin McGrath (2017–2023) Daniel McCrossan (2023–present)
General Secretary (until 2016) Party Manager (since 2016)	Paddy Wilson (1970–1972) John Duffy (1972–1975) Dan McAreavey (1975–1980) Don Canning (1980–1981) Bríd Rodgers (1981–1983) Eamon Hanna (1983–1986) Patsy McGlone (1986–1992) Gerry Cosgrove (1992–2016) Catherine Matthews (2016–present)

Elected representatives

Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly	Mark H. Durkan Cara Hunter Daniel McCrossan Patsy McGlone Colin McGrath Sinead McLaughlin Matthew O'Toole
Members of the UK Parliament	Colum Eastwood Claire Hanna Historical list