Steve Aiken

Stephen Ronald "Steve" Aiken (born 16 June 1962) is a Northern Irish politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2019 to 2021. Aiken has served as an MLA for South Antrim since the 2016 election.
Early life and education.
Steve was born in South Antrim, attended Thompson Primary School, Ballyrobert, and then was educated at Belfast High School. During his naval career he undertook further study at King's College London (MA Defence Studies, 2001) and the University of Cambridge (MPhil, 2013; PhD, 2016 Queens' College).
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)). 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.
Political career.
When Robin Swann announced his sudden resignation as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in 2019, Aiken stepped up and stood for the leadership. He was elected unopposed as leader in November 2019.. He announced his resignation as party leader on 8 May 2021. In a letter to party chairman Danny Kennedy, he said he believed he had taken the party as far as he could but would remain as party leader until a successor is chosen. "To achieve our goals, we now need new leadership," he wrote.
Since February 2020, Aiken has served as Chairperson of the Committee for Finance of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He remains Chair of the All Party Group for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); Chair of the All Party Group for Ethnic Minorities; and, is a Member of the All Party Group for Climate Action.
On the 8th of May 2021 Aiken resigned as the UUP leader. 