A member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), he was party leader from 2019 to 2021, having previously served as Chief Whip from 2017 to 2019.
Aiken has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim since 2016, although he received a brief suspension in May 2024 after being sanctioned for breaching the "confidentiality" of the assembly complaints process.[1]
Aiken was born in South Antrim, attended Thompson Primary School, Ballyrobert, and then was educated at Belfast High School. He joined the Sea Cadets in 1982 based at HMS Caroline (1914), which remains in its original dock as a Museum Ship. During his naval career he undertook further study and holds a PhD and MPhil in International Relations from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge, with his thesis research on India and its growing military power. He also has a MA in Defence Studies from the Department of Defence Studies at King's College London.[2]
Military career
Aiken served for 32 years in the Royal Navy as a submariner, ultimately in many senior operational roles, including commanding two nuclear-powered submarines, being Joint Plans Officer for operations in the Middle-East in 2002-04 (for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)).[3] At the end of his service in the Royal Navy, he became the founding CEO of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, a post he held for three years during which time he lived in Dublin with his family.[4][5]
Political career
When Robin Swann MLA announced his sudden resignation as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in 2019, Aiken stood for the leadership.[6][7] He was elected unopposed as leader in November 2019 and led the party through difficult periods addressing concerns about Brexit, the Protocol and pandemic.[8] He promptly opted for the UUP to take the Ministry of Health Department, when no other party would take it, and appointed Mr Swann MLA as Minister.[9] He announced his resignation as leader eighteen months later[10] because he held a firm position that the Chief Constable needed to resign in 2021.[11]
In October 2021 Aiken was reselected to be a UUP candidate for South Antrim in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.[12] He was reelected in the May 2022 poll and, despite the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly since February 2022, he continues to serve the people of South Antrim and remains the Party Spokesperson on the Northern Ireland Protocol and Finance, in addition to his private consulting business.[13]
In 2024, Aiken received a two-day suspension from the Assembly after being accused of breaching the "confidentiality" of the assembly complaints process. The standards committee recommended a sanction over Aiken disclosing a complaint he had made against another MLA. On 7 May 2024, MLAs backed a motion to suspend him from attending business on the 13th and 14th of May. Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw called on Aiken to consider his position as deputy speaker.[14]
.png)
