The Commissioner

The Commissioner for Victims and Survivors is a public appointment made by Ministers of The Executive Office and managed under the guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

The current Commissioner Joe McVey OBE was appointed by the First Minister and deputy First Minister for a term of 4 years, commencing on 6 October 2025.

The Commissioner’s role is to provide leadership and strategic direction to enable the Commission to perform its principal aim of safeguarding and promoting the interests of victims and survivors as set out in The Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, as amended by the Commission for Victims and Survivors Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

For more information on how the work of the Commission, please see What We Do and How We Do It.

Previous Commissioners include:

Ian Jeffers – May 2022 to January 2024

Judith Thompson – September 2015 to August 2020

Kathryn Stone – September 2012 to July 2014

Bertha McDougall – June 2008 to June 2012

Brendan McAllister – June 2008 to June 2012

Patricia McBride – June 2008 to June 2012

Mike Nesbitt – June 2008 to February 2010