New Chief Executive At Northern Ireland Assembly

Lesley Hogg, the new Clerk/Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly has taken up her post.



Mrs Hogg is the first woman to be appointed to this role and takes up the post after the retirement of the former Clerk/Chief Executive, Trevor Reaney. She will be responsible for providing procedural advice and support to the Assembly Speaker, advising the Assembly Commission, taking responsibility for leading a professional Secretariat to support the Assembly and acting as the Accounting Officer for the organisation.



After working as the Director of Strategic and Regulatory Affairs for AES which owns the Ballylumford and Kilroot power stations, and Chairperson of the Electricity Association of Ireland, Mrs Hogg was latterly the Director of Finance and Corporate Affairs at the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI); bringing to her new role a wealth of both public and private sector experience.



Mrs Hogg said: “I am very much looking forward to my new role as Clerk/Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly both as a new challenge and an opportunity to make a contribution to the political life of Northern Ireland.



“Throughout my career—which has encompassed many different roles in both the private and public sectors—I have tried to bring fresh thinking and a strategic approach to my role. I think that will be of benefit at the beginning of a new mandate with a new Assembly, a new Speaker and new structures.



“This will present many opportunities to add value to the work that has been done over recent years and I am therefore delighted to be leading the Assembly Secretariat through the next phase of its journey.”



The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Robin Newton MBE, MLA said: “There has been a new constructive atmosphere at the Assembly since the election but it will only be at the start of the new session in September that the impact of the new dynamics becomes clearer. I am therefore delighted that Lesley is joining us early in this mandate and within my first few weeks as Speaker. I have no doubt that Lesley’s experience and energy will be invaluable to the Assembly as we prepare for the challenges ahead.”



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