Monica McWilliams
Encyclopedia
Monica McWilliams is a Northern Ireland
academic and former politician. From 2005 to 2011 she served as the second Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
.
McWilliams was born in Kilrea
, County Londonderry
and educated at Loreto College, Coleraine
. She is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and the University of Michigan
, and became Professor of Women's Studies and Social Policy at the University of Ulster
.
McWilliams, a Catholic residing in South Belfast, co-founded (with Pearl Sagar
, a Protestant social worker from East Belfast) the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
(NIWC), a political party with a vaguely feminist platform that declined to take any position on the principal unionist/nationalist dispute. The party secured only 1.03% of the popular vote and failed to win any constituency seats in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum
elections, but was granted two seats under the 'top-up' mechanism designed to ensure the inclusion of minor parties. McWilliams took one of these seats and was thus able to attend the multi-party negotiations that led to the intergovernmental Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which her party supported (but did not, as frequently reported, 'sign').
She was elected as one of two NIWC Members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland
(the other being Jane Morrice
) on 25 June 1998, having secured 3,912 votes in South Belfast
(9.6%). During the negotiations following the Agreement, she was the Chairperson of the Human Rights Sub-Committee until 2003. In 2001 she ran unsuccessfully for Parliament in South Belfast
, securing 2,968 votes (7.8%). In the 2003 Assembly election
her vote fell further, to 2,150 (6.9%), and she lost her seat to Sinn Féin
. (In 2006 the NIWC ceased to exist due to declining electoral fortunes.)
McWilliams returned to her university post from 2003 until she was appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
as full-time Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in June 2005, for a three-year term. She was reappointed, for four years, in September 2008, but announced in August 2010 that she would resign her appointment in August 2011, a year before its expiry. She then returned to the University of Ulster as Professor of Women's Studies and an Associate Researcher with the Transitional Justice Institute. She had also been associated with INCORE, a joint University of Ulster and United Nations University
research centre for the study of conflict.
McWilliams has co-authored two government-published research studies: Bringing It Out in the Open: Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland (1993, with Joan McKiernan) and Taking Domestic Violence Seriously: Issues for the Civil and Criminal Justice System (1996, with Lynda Spence) and has published numerous articles on the impact of political conflict. She was one of eight politicians jointly awarded the John F. Kennedy Library
Profile in Courage Award in 1998. She was a joint recipient of the Frank Cousins Peace Award in 1999. She has also received honorary doctorates from Lesley College
(Massachusetts
) and Mount Mary College
(Milwaukee).
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
academic and former politician. From 2005 to 2011 she served as the second Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the national human rights institution for Northern Ireland...
.
McWilliams was born in Kilrea
Kilrea
Kilrea is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the River Bann, which marks the boundary between County Londonderry and County Antrim...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
and educated at Loreto College, Coleraine
Loreto College, Coleraine
For other schools of the same name, see Loreto College.Loreto College is a Roman Catholic grammar school situated in the Castlerock Road area of Coleraine, County Londonderry, on the north coast of Northern Ireland...
. She is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and became Professor of Women's Studies and Social Policy at the University of Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
.
McWilliams, a Catholic residing in South Belfast, co-founded (with Pearl Sagar
Pearl Sagar
Pearl Sagar is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Brought up a Protestant, Sagar became a social worker in East Belfast, and married a soldier in the British Army....
, a Protestant social worker from East Belfast) the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition was a minor political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1996 by Catholic academic Monica McWilliams and Protestant social worker Pearl Sagar to contest the elections to the Northern Ireland Forum, the body for all-party talks which led to the...
(NIWC), a political party with a vaguely feminist platform that declined to take any position on the principal unionist/nationalist dispute. The party secured only 1.03% of the popular vote and failed to win any constituency seats in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....
elections, but was granted two seats under the 'top-up' mechanism designed to ensure the inclusion of minor parties. McWilliams took one of these seats and was thus able to attend the multi-party negotiations that led to the intergovernmental Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which her party supported (but did not, as frequently reported, 'sign').
She was elected as one of two NIWC Members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
(the other being Jane Morrice
Jane Morrice
Jane Morrice is a former politician in Northern Ireland. She was a prominent member of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition until the NIWC ceased to exist in 2006 due to an ongoing electoral decline...
) on 25 June 1998, having secured 3,912 votes in South Belfast
Belfast South (Assembly constituency)
Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
(9.6%). During the negotiations following the Agreement, she was the Chairperson of the Human Rights Sub-Committee until 2003. In 2001 she ran unsuccessfully for Parliament in South Belfast
Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast South is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in 1922 when, as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
, securing 2,968 votes (7.8%). In the 2003 Assembly election
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
her vote fell further, to 2,150 (6.9%), and she lost her seat to Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
. (In 2006 the NIWC ceased to exist due to declining electoral fortunes.)
McWilliams returned to her university post from 2003 until she was appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
as full-time Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in June 2005, for a three-year term. She was reappointed, for four years, in September 2008, but announced in August 2010 that she would resign her appointment in August 2011, a year before its expiry. She then returned to the University of Ulster as Professor of Women's Studies and an Associate Researcher with the Transitional Justice Institute. She had also been associated with INCORE, a joint University of Ulster and United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
research centre for the study of conflict.
McWilliams has co-authored two government-published research studies: Bringing It Out in the Open: Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland (1993, with Joan McKiernan) and Taking Domestic Violence Seriously: Issues for the Civil and Criminal Justice System (1996, with Lynda Spence) and has published numerous articles on the impact of political conflict. She was one of eight politicians jointly awarded the John F. Kennedy Library
John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
Profile in Courage Award in 1998. She was a joint recipient of the Frank Cousins Peace Award in 1999. She has also received honorary doctorates from Lesley College
Lesley College
Lesley College is the undergraduate section, and founding institution of, Lesley University.The college was founded in 1909 by Edith Lesley as The Lesley School, a women's college which focused on early childhood education as a part of the international kindergarten movement established by...
(Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) and Mount Mary College
Mount Mary College
Mount Mary College is a Catholic women's college based on the liberal arts, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of science in nursing in partnership with Columbia College of Nursing degrees in over 60 undergraduate majors, and master of arts,...
(Milwaukee).