North Down Appoints First Gay Mayor

North Down Borough Council has appointed its first openly gay mayor.

Alliance councillor Andrew Muir was elected to the position on Thursday.

Mr Muir grew up in North Down and has served as an Alliance Party Councillor on the council for the Holywood area since 2010.

He is also Chairperson of the Alliance Party and works as a manager with Translink. A graduate of the University of Ulster, Muir holds a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. He is also a keen sportsman.

For his term in office, he has chosen the theme 'Working as one', to provide "courageous civic leadership for everyone".

He explained: "As Mayor of North Down I am determined to realise the momentous opportunities ahead and celebrate the diverse range of work taking place across the Borough towards one shared vision of an integrated, peaceful, prosperous, active clean and green society.

"With many enduring tough economic times I intend to do my utmost to bring people and businesses together and facilitate collaborative solutions to promote growth, develop skills and retain talent at a time when far too many young people are seeking a future outside Northern Ireland."

Speaking to UTV, the councillor added: "My sexuality hasn't been an issue for me nor for my electorate nor my constituents since I became a councillor in 2010.

"And it won't be a defining issue for me as mayor because the challenge as mayor is to reach out and represent everyone across our society - people of different faiths, backgrounds.

"I think it's a proud moment for me - but there's lots of challenges and opportunities ahead."

On Thursday, Councillor Jennifer Gilmour was also elected as North Down’s new Deputy Mayor. The DUP politician graduated from Queen's University Belfast with an honours degree in Politics.

(JP/CD)