DETI welcomes new Minister

DETI's new Minister is Arlene Foster, MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. She is a member of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Arlene Foster was appointed Minister of the Environment in May 2007, and appointed to DETI on 9 June 2008 following Minister Dodds' move to Finance and Personnel.

Arlene Foster was first elected as an MLA in November 2003 and re-elected in March 2007.

Educated at Queens University Belfast, by profession she is a lawyer and was in private practice as a solicitor from 1996 until devolution in 2007.

Prior to taking up office as Environment Minister, she was her party's spokesperson for Human Rights, Equality and Children and Young People's issues. She was also a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board from April 2006 - May 2007. Before Ministerial appointment, Arlene was a Solicitor in private practice.

Arlene Foster was elected as Councillor for Fermanagh District Council representing the Enniskillen Ward in May 2005. She was re-elected in September 2008.

In February 2008 she was awarded the Parliamentarian / Assembly Member of the Year, at the Women in Public Life Awards, at a reception in London.