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. He has served as Minister for Infrastructure from May to October 2022, and again since 2024. 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.

Early career

O'Dowd was born in 1967 in Tullylish, a rural community between Lurgan and Banbridge. He had trained as a chef before engaging in politics. He began his political career serving for 14 years as a councillor on Craigavon Borough Council and previously served as a school governor. O'Dowd has served as Chair of Upper Bann Sinn Féin and a member of the party's Six County Executive, O'Dowd was leader of the Sinn Féin group on Craigavon Council. In 2003 he was elected as MLA for Upper Bann and in 2005 unsuccessfully contested the same-named Westminster constituency. Between 2007 and 2011 he was Sinn Féin group leader in the Assembly and served as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee before becoming a member of the Education Committee in 2008. On the 13 May 2022, he was confirmed as the 'caretaker' Infrastructure Minister replacing Nichola Mallon of the SDLP who failed to retain her seat in the previous week's election. He took office on 16 May 2022.

Acting deputy First Minister

After Sinn Féin nominated Martin McGuinness as its candidate in the 2011 Irish presidential election, O'Dowd took over the duties of deputy First Minister on a temporary basis from 20 September to 31 October 2011.

Personal life

O'Dowd is married and has three children.