Stephen Farry

Stephen Farry is a Professor of Strategic Policy in Practice at Ulster University. He was educated at the Queen’s University of Belfast and holds a PhD in International Relations. He was a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, 2005-06.

Professor Farry has served as an elected representative in various levels between 1993 and 2024, including holding office as local government councillor, Mayor, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a Member of Parliament.

Between 2011 and 2016, he was the Minister for Employment and Learning on the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive.

He participated in the negotiations that resulted in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (1998) and has been involved in many subsequent negotiations in relation to the Northern Ireland peace and political process. He has also been a consultant for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

The Ulster University Strategic Policy Unit (SPU):

• offers influential strategic policy analysis in a public-facing space, based on a deep understanding of the political, economic and social landscape
• stimulates policy debate in key strategic areas for the benefit of society, both locally and globally
• works across campuses and faculties, complementing and harnessing the subject-specific policy centres already long-established at Ulster
• enables even greater collaboration between academia and political and governmental stakeholders and, with a focus on policy in practice, critically and impartially informs the environment for public policy discussion in Northern Ireland and beyond
• bolsters the strategic policy efforts of the already dynamic research community at Ulster and helps to boost impact in finding solutions to issues affecting society
• provides new opportunities to support students working in areas relevant to public policy by sharing experience and expertise to help the University to nurture the skills required of the next generation of policy leaders.