John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice (28 March 1955— ) is a Northern Ireland politician. He was Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004, leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and sits in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat. March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ... The Northern Ireland Assembly is a 108-member legislative body for Northern Ireland that sits at Stormont with powers devolved to it from the Westminster parliament. ... The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, or APNI, is a political party operating in Northern Ireland. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ...

Alderdice was born to Reverend David Alderdice and Annie Margaret Helena, née Shields. He was educated at Ballymena Academy and Queen's University, Belfast. In 1977, he married Joan Hill, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. He has worked as a consultant psychiatrist in psychotherapy since 1988. He has also lectured at Queen's University's Faculty of Medicine. Ballymena is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. ... The Queens University of Belfast Queens University, Belfast (QUB) - or officially The Queens University of Belfast - is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ...

The Alliance Party was formed in 1970 as an alternative to sectarian politics. Alderdice became its leader ahead of the 1987 general election and contested Belfast East for the party. He received 32.0% of the vote, the highest percentage every achieved in an individual seat in a Westminster election, while Alliance were firmly established on the political map. In 1988, in Alliance's keynote post-Anglo Irish Agreement document, "Governing with Consent", Alderdice called for a consociational devolved power-sharing government. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Alliance's vote stabilised at between 7% and 10%. Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ... The UK general election, 1987 was held on June 11, 1987 and was the third victory in a row for Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives. ... Westminster is the name of a city that covers much of central London, located to the west of the ancient City of London, and which has been the principal seat of government in England for more than nine hundred years. ... The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. ...

Alderdice once again contested Belfast East in the 1992 general election. He led the Alliance Delegation to the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation at Dublin Castle and the Northern Ireland Multiparty Talks, and was a member of the Northern Ireland Forum. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast East in 1998 and became the Assembly's first speaker, serving until 2004, although the Assembly had been suspended for much of that time. He resigned as party leader to take the position of Speaker. He has been a member of the Independent Monitoring Commission since 2003. The UK general election, 1992 was held on April 9, 1992, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ... Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. ...

Alderdice was created a life peer in 1996 as Baron Alderdice of Knock in the City of Belfast. He sits in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat. In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ...

Alderdice has been awarded several honours: the John F Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award in 1998; the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award in 1998; the Silver Medal of Congress of Peru in 1999 and 2004; the Medal of Honour, College of Medicine of Peru in 1999; and the Freedom of the City of Baltimore in 1991. Freedom of the City is an award made by towns and cities, to esteemed members of its community; such people may then be termed Freemen or Freewomen of the City. ... This article is about the city in the US state of Maryland. ...