Description

Gerry Kelly was born in Belfast in 1953 and reared in a family of eleven children. When the Conflict began in the late 1960s, like many of his generation, he joined in the resistance, against the military forces of the British backed Orange State in the North Of Ireland

After joining the Irish Republican Army he was imprisoned on a number of occasions, escaping from Jail twice. He also endured a prolonged hunger strike for political status, while in prison, when he was 20 years of age.

On his release in 1989 he joined Sinn Féin and became part of their negotiating team leading to the Good Friday Agreement, followed by the Saint Andrew’s Agreement and later the Hillsborough Agreement.

He was elected as a member of the new Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998. He has been returned as an MLA in all successive elections since. He is now Sinn Féin’s policing spokesperson and has been a political member of the Policing Board since 2011.

He lives in Belfast with his wife Margaret. Between them they have seven children.