Background
Born Sylvia Eileen Paisley in Galbally, Dungannon, County Tyrone. Her father was Robert Paisley, a farmer, and she had three sisters. The family saw tragedy when Sylvia's mother accidentally drowned when Sylvia was four. She went to Dungannon High School before studying Law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, obtaining a First and the highest mark in her year.
She went on to lecture in Law at the Queen's University of Belfast at the same time as David Trimble. She did not enter politics until 1998 when she joined the Ulster Unionist Party, having been impressed by the role the UUP played in negotiating the Belfast Agreement. She rose to a place on the party Executive by the following year.
On 6 November 2008 her husband Jack Hermon died. Shortly afterward, her father also died.
She is a longstanding supporter of the Alzheimer's Research Trust and helped launch its Northern Ireland network centre.
Read more about this topic: Sylvia Hermon
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