Belfast. The Northern Ireland Assembly sits at Stormont and the Northern Ireland Executive works from Stormont Castle, both in east Belfast.
Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since Northern Ireland was created in 1921, and it was the seat of the parliament that governed it from then until 1972.
The Parliament Buildings at Stormont, opened in 1932, house the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Northern Ireland Executive, headed jointly by a First Minister and a deputy First Minister with equal powers, works from Stormont Castle nearby. Both were created by the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998.
Devolution in Northern Ireland has been suspended several times, most recently between February 2022 and February 2024. While it is suspended, decisions pass to the Northern Ireland Office and to the United Kingdom government in London. Belfast does not stop being the capital during a suspension. The seat is the building and the institution, not whether it happens to be sitting.
Derry, or Londonderry, is the second city and has its own claim on the region's history, but it has never been the seat of government.
The places above come from GeoNames, reconciled against Wikidata. Last checked 21 September 2026. How we know · Suggest a correction