Born in Kent in 1951, David Ford was the son of a Welsh man and a woman from Northern Ireland. He grew up in England, but spent summer holidays on his uncle’s farm in Gortin, County Tyrone.
He moved to Northern Ireland permanently in 1969, studying economics at Queen’s University in Belfast.
He joined Alliance while he was at university. He started his working life as a a social worker and he spent a year as a volunteer at the ecumenical centre, Corrymeela.
Mr Ford’s entry into full-time politics was in 1990 when he became Alliance’s general secretary. He was appointed party chief whip in 1998.
He has represented South Antrim as an MLA since 1998. He was also a member of Antrim Borough Council.
He took over as leader in 2001, after Sean Neeson stepped down in the face of poor election results.