European Parliament

A Parliament made up of elected members from the countries of the European Community. When the Parliament was first planned in 1976 Northern Ireland was initially allocated two members on the basis of its population. A strong case was made that the region should be allowed to elect three members to ensure cross-community representation and this was accepted. In the first election to the Parliament in 1979 the Northern Ireland electorate returned Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party), John Hume (Social Democratic and Labour Party), and John Taylor (Ulster Unionist Party). In the June 1999 election the three winning candidates were Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party), John Hume (Social Democratic and Labour Party), and Jim Nicholson (Ulster Unionist Party).