Northern Ireland

Arlene Foster portrait unveiled at Queen’s University

Ex-DUP leader says university shaped her ‘passion for politics’

Baroness Foster pictured with Queen’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer, Vice-President for Governance and External Affairs and Registrar, Dr Ryan Feeney, event host Gareth Gordon, The Lord Bew, and portrait artist Kathryn Warden.
Baroness Foster pictured with Queen’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer, Vice-President for Governance and External Affairs and Registrar, Dr Ryan Feeney, event host Gareth Gordon, The Lord Bew, and portrait artist Kathryn Warden.
By Paul Ainsworth

Former First Minister Arlene Foster has described the unveiling of a new portrait of herself at Queen’s University as an “immense honour”.

The painting of the ex-DUP leader by Co Down artist Kathryn Warden is on display at the Belfast university’s Great Hall, and was unveiled on Tuesday alongside a portrait of Dubai businesswoman and QUB honorary graduate Dr Raja Al Gurg.

The paintings join a display of prominent figures associated with Queen’s in its Portrait Collection.

In recent years, steps have been taken by the Queen’s Gender Initiative body to boost the representation of influential women connected to the university.

Ms Foster studied law at Queen’s, where she joined the Queen’s Unionist Association and went on to chair the body in 1992.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

Dr Al Gurg, whose portrait is by Dungannon artist Catherine Creaney, began her relationship with Queen’s back in 2013, assisted by Ms Foster who was then Stormont’s Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment.

Dr Raja Al Gurg pictured with Baroness Foster at Queen's University.
Dr Raja Al Gurg pictured with Baroness Foster at Queen's University.

Other notable women celebrated in artwork at Queen’s include the late Belfast trade union activist Baroness May Blood and Belfast-born former Irish President Mary McAleese.

Now Baroness Foster after being named as a House of Lords peer in 2022, the former First Minister said: “It is an immense honour to be recognised in this way by Queen’s University, a place that shaped my passion for politics and my belief in the importance of strong leadership.

“As the first female leader of the DUP and the first female First Minister of Northern Ireland, I’ve always been conscious of the responsibility to lead by example. Representation matters, and when women see themselves reflected in positions of influence, it sends a powerful message that they too can break barriers, challenge conventions, and achieve great things.”

Queen’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer, said: “When Queen’s opened its doors in 1845, women were largely absent from campus life, and our walls heavily adorned with the portraits of men.

“For many years, the only portrait of a woman to hang in the Great Hall was that of Queen Victoria. The Queen’s Gender Initiative has taken significant steps to redress this imbalance.”