Born as Arlene Isabel, she is a Northern Irish politician. She is better known for serving as the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and is also the Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. According to her bio, Foster was born on 3 July 1970, which makes her age be 48 years old as of 2018. She is recognized for serving as the Minister of the Environment (2007 to 2008), Minister for Enterprise and Investment (2008 to 2015) and Minister for Finance and Personnel (2015 to 2016). In January of 2016, she shared power with James Martin Pacelli McGuinness be becoming the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
During her journey in the politics, she has faced various criticism and controversies including Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. Apart from the politics, she is also involved in several activities including her support to the Scottish soccer club, Rangers. Let’s explore in detail about Arlene’s wiki below:
Early Life and Education
Arlene Foster was born in 1970 in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland to the father John Kelly and mother Georgina Kelly and was raised up Dernawilt, County Fermanagh which lies between Roslea and Lisnaskea. Talking about her religion and ethnicity, she is Christian belonging to the white ethnicity background. As per her Wikipedia profile, Foster is also a member of the Protestant Church of Ireland. She grew up in such a period where the country was going through a politically turbulent time AKA The Troubles. Her father John was attacked who used to be a Royal Ulster Constabulary reservist and was shot making him badly injured. The threat compelled her family to shift from the Roslea area.
When she was a teenager, she faced a bus bombing attack by the IRA because the driver of the vehicle was a soldier for the Ulster Defence Regiment. Luckily, Foster survived the attack but a girl side to her was seriously injured. Foster attended Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School in 1982 where she studied till 1989. Later, she went to the Queen’s University to complete her graduation with LL.B. degree. While being at the University, she joined the Queen’s Unionist Association, a part of a unionist political party named UUP. Her membership in the association was the first crucial step in her political journey. She contributed as the chairman of the association for a year.
Career and Professional Life
Even after completing her academic education at the Queen’s University, Foster remained active on the association where she was involved. Later, she turned as the Honorary Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council where she contributed till 18 December 2003. From between 2005 to 2010, she represented Enniskillen as a Councillor on Fermanagh District Council. While Foster was active at ‘baby barristers’, she was elected in the 2003 Assembly elections. After a year, she resigned from the UUP alongside Jeffrey Donaldson and Norah Beare to join the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
On 8 May 2007, she became the Minister for the Environment for which she remained in the post till 9 June 2008 and became the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. She was succeeded by Jonathan Bell and became the Minister for Finance and Personnel on 11 May 2015. In January 2015, she became the First Minister of Northern Ireland for which she served for a year. Her agenda was “hope for all the community.”
Personal Life
Arlene Foster’s husband name is Brian Foster who is a former policeman. The couple married in 1995. From their conjugal life, Arlene and her husband Brian welcomed three children named Sarah, George and Ben. There is very less chance of getting a divorce by this couple and no misunderstanding and conflicts news about their relationship have been heard. Arlene has three siblings named David Kelly, Julie Foster and Linda Kelly.
Body Measurements
Arlene Foster has an average height with a maintained body. She must be giving focus on her diet and workout routines. However, the actual body measurement stat of the Northern Irish politician is not available.
Salary and Net worth
Arlene Foster earned £78,212 in the year 2014/15 as per her tax returns show. As per some wiki sites, her estimated net worth is 700,000 USD. The amount of the worth is very less compared to other politicians of her level.
Wiki and Facts
The Northern Irish politician Arlene Foster’s profile is available on Wikipedia, IMDb and other celebrity websites. You can find her Official Facebook page @ArleneFosterMLA and her Twitter profile @dupleader where she has garnered more than 19k and 59k followers respectively. She has no Instagram account as of now but is active on Facebook and Twitter.