Executive of the 2nd Northern Ireland Assembly

Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 a new election was called in November 2003 in hope of restoring devolution, the election saw the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin emerge as the largest parties in the Assembly. The DUP refused to go into government with Sinn Féin meaning that direct rule would stay in place for another 5 years.

Northern Ireland had 3 Secretaries of States during the period of direct rule:

The assembly was officially dissolved in 2007 following the St Andrews Agreement.
 * John Reid in October 2002,
 * Paul Murphy between October 2002 and May 2005,
 * Peter Hain between May 2005 and May 2007.