Robin Swann

Robin Swann (born 24 September 1971) is a Northern Irish unionist politician currently serving as Minister of Health since 2024.

Swann attended Kells and Connor Primary, then Ballymena Academy, after which he got a job at McQuillan Meats from 1989 to 1993.

Swann did not attend university, although he did later do an Open University science degree.

Swann worked for SGS, a multinational inspection and testing company based in Switzerland, before becoming an MLA.

Swann has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2011.

Robin Swann was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011 in the North Antrim constituency.

Swann successfully defended his seat in the 2016 Assembly election, and at the snap election in March 2017, where he was the first unionist elected in North Antrim.

He also served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2017 to 2019.

During his first term as Minister of Health, Swann led Northern Ireland's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His handling of the crisis was widely praised, leading Swann to top the poll in North Antrim at the 2022 Assembly election.

Robin Swann's mother Ida was a hospital cleaner and his father Brian a plumber.

He has a younger brother called David.

Swann contracted asthma at a young age as he was "born in an old farmhouse riddled with damp."

When he was two years old, Swann's family moved to a housing executive house in Kells in County Antrim.

Swann was teased at school for his short height.

At the age of 12, Swann joined the Young Farmers' Club of Ulster.

His great uncle led the Cromkill Pipe Band, a small rural country band.

Swann learned to play the bagpipes as "it was just an interest I took at 17 to do something different."

Whenever Swann was 19, his grandfather Samuel Mawhinney, who was a farmer, died from a heart attack at the age of 68.

Swann took the death "very badly" as his grandfather was his "role model."

Swann was elected Ulster Unionist leader in April 2017; he resigned in November 2019 in order to spend more time with his family.

Swann came second in the North Antrim constituency in the 2019 Westminster election, with double the UUP vote of the previous election.

In the 2022 Assembly election Swann went on to top the North Antrim poll.

His increased vote was attributed to his work as health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Swann credited his success to the work of those in the health service.

On 1 February 2024, Swann was announced as the UUP's parliamentary candidate for South Antrim at the next United Kingdom general election, a target seat for the UUP.

Swann confirmed that he would continue his Westminster campaign on 8 February 2024, despite his appointment as Health Minister.

He previously held this office from 2020 to 2022.

In 2020, Swann was appointed Minister of Health, and presided over the response of the Northern Ireland Executive to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Swann introduced the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill, or "Dáithí's Law" in the Assembly in 2021.

It was named after six-year-old Dáithí Mac Gabhann from Belfast, who needs a heart transplant.

The legislation came into effect on 1 June 2023 and introduced an opt-out system, meaning people would automatically become donors unless they stated otherwise.

On 2 February 2022 a 44-year-old man was charged with threatening to kill Swann, harassment and improper use of a telecommunications network.

Swann ceased to be Minister for Health on 27 October 2022 following the collapse of power-sharing at the Northern Ireland Executive.

The High Court dismissed a £100m lawsuit against NI politicians over Covid-19 regulations in December 2022.

Swann has been called as a participant in the UK Covid Inquiry at the hearing to Module 1 he said "Failed reforms hindered NI Covid response."

In August 2023, Swann welcomed progress that had been made on clamping down on some of the most expensive nursing agency costs in the local health service in Northern Ireland.

On 3 February 2024, Swann was reappointed Minister for Health following the formation of the Executive of the 7th Northern Ireland Assembly.

Swann's appointment revealed a split within the UUP, with Andy Allen MLA criticising his return as Swann was already confirmed as a Westminster candidate.

Allen argued that "we need a health minister with their full focus on the task at hand, not one eye on WM (Westminster).” Following his appointment, Swann wrote to trade unions inviting them to early discussions.