McLaughlin to stand down from Assembly
The 70-year-old, the current Assemly Speaker, has announced he will not be seeking election at next May’s election. . He said he wanted to be "doing some other things outside of this assembly". Elections to the assembly are scheduled for next May.
"I know it is no secret to many members but I want to publicly put it on the record today that I will be stepping down as a member of this assembly at the end of this mandate," said Mr McLaughlin.
"I will not therefore be seeking re-election as speaker.
"I turned 70 during the Halloween recess and I look forward to the opportunity to be doing some other things.
"However, there will be plenty of time to be reflective at a later point and I am making this announcement at this stage only to show proper courtesy to the house.”
A member of Sinn Féin since the 1960s, he has held various senior positions within the party including General Secretary and National Chairperson.
He was key to developing the party's peace strategy and a major contributor to the Sinn Féin document, 'Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland'.
A former member of Derry City Council, he was elected a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Foyle in the 1998 assembly election and re-elected in 2003.
In March 2007, he transferred to the South Antrim constituency where he topped the poll during the 2007 Assembly election, being re-elected in 2011.
He took up the post of Assembly Speaker in January this year following the resignation of DUP Foyle MLA William on health grounds.