Steve Aiken

Commander Steve Aiken OBE MLA
Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 February 2024 Serving with Carál Ní Chuilín and John Blair
Preceded by	Patsy McGlone
Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson for Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 2021
Leader	Doug Beattie
17th Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
In office 9 November 2019 – 27 May 2021
Preceded by	Robin Swann
Succeeded by	Doug Beattie
Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Antrim[a]
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2016
Preceded by	Adrian Cochrane-Watson
Personal details
Born	Ballyclare, Northern Ireland
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Alma mater	Britannia Royal Naval College King's College London University of Cambridge
Profession	Royal Navy Commander, Submarine Warfare
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Navy
Years of service	1980–2011
Rank	Commander
Unit	Submarine Service
a. ^ Suspended on 13 and 14 May 2024

Stephen Ronald Aiken OBE MLA is a Northern Irish politician, serving as the Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2024.

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]