John O'Dowd

Following the decision by Sinn Féin to nominate Martin McGuinness as its candidate in the 2011 Irish presidential election, it was announced on 16 September 2011 that O'Dowd would be fulfil the duties of deputy First Minister on a temporary basis.

John Fitzgerald O'Dowd (born 10 May 1967) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was the Minister for Education in the Stormont Executive from 2011 to 2016 and the Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann since 2003. He briefly took on the duties of deputy First Minister in 2011 while Martin McGuinness ran in the 2011 Irish presidential election.

O'Dowd was born in 1967 in Tullylish, a rural community between Lurgan and Banbridge. He had trained as a chef before engaging in politics. He began his political career serving for 14 years as a councillor on Craigavon Council and previously served as a school governor. O'Dowd has served as Chair of Upper Bann Sinn Féin and a member of the party's Six County Executive, O'Dowd was leader of the Sinn Féin group on Craigavon Council. In 2003 he was elected as MLA for Upper Bann. Between 2007 and 2011 he was Sinn Féin group leader in the Assembly and served as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee before becoming a member of the Education Committee in 2008.