South Belfast:Alliance newcomer Anna Lo eased home in South Belfast having cornered nearly a quota on the first count.
The 56-year-old mother of two sons has had a long career in community work, especially with immigrants, before opting for representative politics.
Born in Hong Kong, she came to the UK to get married and worked in London before coming to Belfast. As head of the Chinese Welfare Association, she is responsible for nine projects aimed at helping immigrants from many countries, not just her native China. She told The Irish Times immediately after her election that she had spent enough time lobbying politicians and the time had arrived for her to make her stand.
"The Alliance Party is the most natural home for outsiders," she said. "I'm not naturally affiliated with either the orange or green traditions here, and so my home is left-of-centre social politics."
The holder of a master's degree in executive leadership from the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, she could only manage a reserved "yes" when asked if she was looking forward to her Stormont career. Having made the jump from community worker to elected representative, she voiced some caution about the demands ahead. But she remains energised by the public's desire, as she sees it, for powersharing and devolution to return and to be made to work.
"The mood in the community is for politicians to get back to work - but I have a lot to learn."