Jim Wells
Politician
Beginning in the early 1980s, this Democratic Unionist Party politician served in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Then, from 2014 to 2015, he served as Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.
He began his political career after earning a geography degree from Queen's University Belfast.
He has been widely criticized for his public comments denouncing LGBT lifestyles, as well as for his anti-abortion views.
He was born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, and he grew up as a member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. He and his wife, Grace, raised three children.
He and fellow Northern Irish politician Nigel Dodds are both members of the Democratic Unionist Party.