For the similarly named Unionist politician, see Paul Givan

Paul Givan

Paul Jonathan Givan is a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. He was co-opted in June 2010 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Democratic Unionist Party member for Lagan Valley, replacing the previous MLA, Jeffrey Donaldson, MP...

Paul Girvan is a Northern Irish

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...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. As a member of the Democratic Unionist Party

Democratic Unionist Party

The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

 (DUP), he was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council

Newtownabbey Borough Council

Newtownabbey Borough Council is a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Newtownabbey has a population of over 80,000 and is on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Borough was founded in 1958 as a result of an Act of Parliament passed in 1957 and...

 in 1997, and from 2002-04 served as its mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. He is currently the Chair of the council's Development Committee.

In 2003, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly

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...

, representing South Antrim

South Antrim (Assembly constituency)

South Antrim 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...

.

He was deselected by the DUP in South Antrim in 2007, but returned to the Assembly in 2010 when he was selected to replace William McCrea

William McCrea (politician)

Robert Thomas William McCrea is a politician from Northern Ireland, and a member of the Democratic Unionist Party.-Career:...

following his resignation.

Sources