LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Assembly
built 659 days ago
On Mar. 30, 1972, the British prime minister, Edward Heath, suspended the government and appointed William Whitelaw secretary of state for Northern Ireland. Westminster's direct rule over the province was renewed in Mar., 1973. An assembly was formed in June, 1972, with the Unionist party, a moderate pro-British group, in the majority. In November the Unionist party formed a coalition with the Social Democratic Labour party (SDLP), the major Catholic group, and the nonsectarian Alliance party. A Northern Ireland Executive was formed to exercise day-to-day administration.
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The British government aimed to reinstate the Northern Ireland Assembly on an agreed cross-community basis. In 1973 the government won wide agreement on an assembly with a power-sharing executive composed of moderates from the nationalist, unionist, and cross-community parties. A Council of Ireland was agreed upon between these parties and the British and Irish governments at Sunningdale, in Berkshire, in December. A power-sharing executive was formed in January 1974. It was opposed by anti-agreement unionists, who overwhelmingly defeated pro-agreement unionist candidates in a British general election called in February 1974.
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In late Sept. 2002, First Minister David Trimble announced that he and other Unionist leaders would force the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly by resigning unless the IRA disbanded by Jan. 18, 2003. The ultimatum came under pressure from hard-line constituents within the Unionist Party, following a number of incidents (including the trial of IRA guerillas in Colombia on weapons-related charges) that pointed to continued IRA military activity.
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