The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland – Leading Change

CONSTITUENCY OFFICES

88 University Street
Belfast BT7 1HE

anna.lo@allianceparty.org

028 9033 0811 (landline)

028 9052 1560 (landline)

www.annalo.org

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About Anna

Anna Manwah Lo, MBE, MSc, Dip.S.W. is the Alliance MLA for South Belfast.

Anna was born in Hong Kong and worked in London for a year prior to coming to live in Northern Ireland in 1974. For several years, she made regular contributions to the BBC Chinese Service about the Chinese community and Northern Ireland affairs. In 1978, she started the first ever English evening class for Chinese people in Northern Ireland in a further education college.

Following a career break to have her two sons, she joined the Chinese Welfare Association in 1987 as a community interpreter. Four years later she returned to full-time education and qualified as a social worker from the University of Ulster in 1993 and worked in the health and social services trust and Barnardos.

She took up the post of director of the Chinese Welfare Association in 1997.

Anna was the first vice chair of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities and a founding commissioner for the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. She was also the first chair of the South Belfast Partnership Board.

Anna was awarded an MBE in 1999 for Services to Ethnic Minorities. In March 2007, she was elected to serve as the MLA for South Belfast for the Alliance Party, and consequently the first ethnic Chinese born person to be elected to a legislative parliament in Europe. She was re-elected in May 2011 where she topped the poll in South Belfast.

Anna is Chairperson of the Assembly Environment Committee.