John O'Dowd

John O'Dowd
O'Dowd in 2021
Minister for Finance
Assumed office
3 February 2025
First MinisterMichelle O'Neill
Preceded byCaoimhe Archibald
Minister for Infrastructure
In office
3 February 2024  3 February 2025
First MinisterMichelle O'Neill
Preceded byHimself (2022)
Succeeded byLiz Kimmins
In office
16 May 2022  27 October 2022
First MinisterVacant
Preceded byNichola Mallon
Succeeded byHimself (2024)
Minister for Education
Acting
16 May 2011  25 May 2016
Serving with Peter Robinson
First MinisterPeter Robinson
Preceded byCaitríona Ruane
Succeeded byPeter Weir
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
In office
20 September 2011  31 October 2011
Preceded byMartin McGuinness
Succeeded byMartin McGuinness
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Upper Bann
Assumed office
26 November 2003
Preceded byDara O'Hagan
ConstituencyLoughside
Member of
Craigavon Borough Council
In office
21 May 1997  5 May 2011
Preceded byBrendan McConville
Succeeded byMairéad O'Dowd
Personal details
Born
John Fitzgerald O'Dowd

(1967-05-10) 10 May 1967
Tullylish, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partySinn Féin
SpouseMary O'Dowd
Children3
OccupationPolitician

John Fitzgerald O'Dowd (born 10 May 1967) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann since 2003, and has served as Minister for Finance since February 2025. He served as Minister for Infrastructure from May to October 2022, and again from February 2024 until February 2025. He served as Minister for Education in the Stormont Executive from 2011 to 2016. He briefly took on the duties of deputy First Minister in 2011 while Martin McGuinness ran in the 2011 Irish presidential election.

In 2019, O'Dowd launched an unsuccessful bid to unseat Michelle O'Neill as Vice President of Sinn Féin at the party's ard fheis and received the endorsement of Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew. However, he refused to give media interviews to explain his decision to challenge O'Neill.