Chris Hazzard is the Sinn Fein MP for South Down, having first been elected to Parliament in 2017. He was reelected in 2019 with a majority of 1,620 over the SDLP.
South Down is found in the south eastern coast corner of Northern Ireland. Although it was once represented in Parliament by Enoch Powell for the Ulster Unionist Party, it is now an overwhelming Catholic seat.
Born in 1984, Chris Hazzard was educated at Queen’s university of Belfast, where he obtained a PhD in international relations.
He served in the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2012 and 2017, initially as its youngest member, and acted as the Minister of Infrastructure until the Executive’s collapse in January 2017.
In 2022, Mr Hazzard received criticism after he tweeted his support for the Chinese government’s claim that it has eradicated poverty, writing, “Great to see President Xi has announced the end of absolute poverty in China this week”. His comments were welcomed by the Chinese Embassy in Ireland whose Twitter responded with a quote from Nelson Mandela.
Along with other Sinn Fein MPs, he does not take his seat in the house of commons
Twitter – @ChrisHazzardSF
Email – Â southdownmp@gmail.com
