Editing Multinational state (section)

=== Europe ===
{{further|Ethnic groups in Europe}}
[[Montenegro]] is the only European state with no ethnic majority, but many others have ethnic minorities that form a majority within a province or region (see [[multilingual countries and regions of Europe]]).

==== Russia ====
{{main|Ethnic groups in Russia}}

[[File:Two largest ethnic minority by federal subject 2010.jpg|thumb|250px|The largest two ethnic groups, excluding Russians, in each region (Census 2010)]]
Russia is a multinational state, and is home to over 193 ethnic groups. In the 2010 Census, roughly 81% of the population were ethnic [[Russians]],<ref name="ethnicgroups">[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php Ethnic groups in Russia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622084055/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php |date=22 June 2011}}, 2002 census, ''Demoscope Weekly''. Retrieved 5 February 2009.</ref> and 19% of the population were minorities;<ref name="perepis-2010.ru">{{cite web|url=http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/result-december-2011.ppt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118212344/http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/result-december-2011.ppt|archive-date=18 January 2012|title=ВПН-2010|website=perepis-2010.ru}}</ref> while around 84.93% of the Russia's population was of [[Ethnic groups of Europe|European descent]],<ref name="perepis-2010.ru" /> of which the vast majority were [[Slavs]] as well as minorities of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], [[Baltic-Finnic peoples|Baltic-Finns]] and other peoples. There are [[Republics of Russia|22 republics]] in Russia, designated to have their own ethnicities, cultures, and languages. In 13 of them, ethnic Russians [[Republics of Russia#Demographics trend|consist a minority]]. According to the [[United Nations]], Russia's [[Immigration to Russia|immigrant population]] is the third-largest in the world, numbering over 11.6 million;<ref>{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Ashley|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/12111108/Mapped-Which-country-has-the-most-immigrants.html|title=Mapped: Which country has the most immigrants?|date=21 January 2016|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> most of which are from [[post-Soviet states]], mainly [[Ukrainians in Russia|Ukrainians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/russia-and-ukraine-fight-but-their-people-want-reconciliation|title=Russia and Ukraine Fight, But Their People Seek Reconciliation|work=[[Bloomberg L.P.]]|author=Leonid Ragozin|date=3 April 2019|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref> The republics are [[Tatarstan]] ([[Volga Tatars]]), [[Bashkortostan]] ([[Bashkirs]], [[Volga Tatars]]), [[Chuvashia]] ([[Chuvash people|Chuvash]]), [[Adygea]] ([[Circassians#Ethnonyms|Adyghe]]), [[Karachay-Cherkessia]] ([[Circassians#Ethnonyms|Cherkess of Karachay-Cherkessia]], [[Karachays]], [[Nogais]], [[Abazins|Abaza]]), [[Kabardino-Balkaria]] ([[Kabardians|Kabardins]] & [[Balkars]]), [[Chechnya]] ([[Chechens]]), [[Mordovia]] ([[Mordvin people|Mordvin]]), [[Udmurtia]] ([[Udmurts]]), [[Mari El]] ([[Mari people|Mari]]), [[Kalmykia]] ([[Kalmyks]]), the [[Komi Republic]] ([[Komi peoples|Komi]]), [[Karelia]] ([[Karelians]], ethnic [[Finns]], [[Vepsians]]), [[Ingushetia]] ([[Ingushs]]), [[North Ossetia-Alania]] ([[Ossetians]]), [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]] ([[Yakuts]], [[Evenki people|Evenki]], [[Evens]], [[Dolgans]], [[Yukaghir people|Yukaghir]]), [[Buryatia]] ([[Buryats]]), [[Khakassia]] ([[Khakas]]), the [[Altai Republic]] ([[Altai people|Altai]], ethnic [[Kazakhs in Russia|Kazakhs]]), [[Tuva]] ([[Tuvans]]), and [[Dagestan]] (ethnic [[Azerbaijanis in Russia|Azerbaijanis]], [[Chechens]], [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]], [[Dargins]], [[Kumyks]], [[Lezgins]], [[Lak people (Dagestan)|Laks]], [[Tabasaran people|Tabasarans]], [[Nogais]], [[Aguls]], [[Rutuls]], [[Tsakhurs]], [[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]] and others). There are also 4 [[Autonomous okrugs of Russia|autonomous okrugs]] which are [[Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Khanty]] & [[Mansi people|Mansi]]), [[Nenets Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Nenets people|Nenets]]), [[Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Nenets people|Nenets]], [[Selkup people|Selkup]]), and [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Chukchi people|Chukchi]]), 1 [[Autonomous oblast of Russia|autonomous oblast]], it is [[Jewish autonomous oblast]] ([[Jewish people|Jews]], but there are a few of them, because of migration to [[Israel]] after [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]]), 6 [[Administrative-territorial units with a special status of Russia|administrative-territorial units with a special status]], which are [[Agin-Buryat Okrug]] ([[Buryats]]) in [[Zabaykalsky Krai]], [[Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug]] ([[Buryats]]) in [[Irkutsk Oblast]], [[Koryak Okrug]] ([[Koryaks]]) in [[Kamchatka Krai]], [[Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District]] ([[Dolgans]], [[Nenets]], [[Enets]], [[Nganasans]]) and [[Evenkiysky District]] ([[Evenks|Evenki]]) in [[Krasnoyarsky Krai]], [[Komi-Permyak Okrug]] ([[Komi peoples|Komi]]) in [[Perm Krai]]. 

The Tatars, Bashkirs, and Chechens are three predominantly [[Muslims|Muslim]] minorities in the country. Russia is also home to small [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] populations, such as the [[nomad]]ic Buryats in Buryatia, and the Kalmyks; native to Kalmykia, the only Buddhist region in Europe. There are also the [[Shamanism|Shamanistic]] peoples of [[Siberia]] and the [[Far North (Russia)|Far North]]; the [[Finno-Ugric peoples]] of [[Northwest Russia]] and the [[Volga region]]; the [[Sakhalin Koreans|Korean inhabitants of Sakhalin]]; and the diverse peoples of the [[North Caucasus]].<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php Ethnic groups in Russia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622084055/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php |date=2011-06-22 }}, at demoscope.ru</ref>

Russia's [[official language]] is [[Russian language|Russian]]. However, Russia's 193 minority ethnic groups speak over 100 languages.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/Mixed-and-deciduous-forest#ref38596|title=Russia|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by [[Tatar language|Tatar]] with 5.3 million, and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] with 1.8 million speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perepis2002.ru/index.html?id=87 |title=Russian Census of 2002 |website=4.3. Population by nationalities and knowledge of Russian; 4.4. Spreading of knowledge of languages (except Russian) |publisher=[[Rosstat]]|access-date=16 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719233704/http://www.perepis2002.ru/index.html?id=87|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> The constitution gives the individual republics of the country the right to [[Languages of Russia#Official languages|establish their own state languages]] in addition to Russian.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of the Russian Federation|website=(Article 68, §&nbsp;2)|url=http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-04.htm|access-date=27 December 2007}}</ref>

==== Belgium ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Belgium|Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium}}

The territory of [[Belgium]] is almost equally divided between the two people groups and their communities: the [[Flemish dialects|Dutch-speaking]] [[Flemish people|Flemings]] of [[Flanders]] and the [[Belgian French|French-speaking]] [[Walloons]] of [[Wallonia]]. This led to political unrest throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and in the aftermath of the difficult [[2007–08 Belgian government formation]], the Belgian media envisaged a [[partition of Belgium]] as a potential solution. There is also a [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking minority in the east]].

==== Bosnia and Herzegovina ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
[[File:Map Bih entities.png|thumb|200px|Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (FBiH), the [[Republika Srpska]] (RS), and the [[Brčko District]] (BD).]]
[[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] is home to three ethnic "[[Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina|constituent peoples]]": [[Bosniaks]] (50.11%), [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]] (30.78%), and [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]] (15.43%).<ref name="Popis2013">{{cite web|title=Census of population, households and dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013: Final results|url=http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|publisher=Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina|date=June 2016|access-date=1 July 2016|archive-date=24 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224103940/http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The country's political divisions were created by the [[Dayton Agreement]], which recognized a second tier of government comprising two entities: the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (mostly Bosniaks and Croats) and the [[Republika Srpska]] (mostly Serbs), with each governing roughly half of the state's territory. A third region, the [[Brčko District]], was governed locally. Today, all three ethnic groups have an equal constitutional status over the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country has a [[bicameral|bicameral legislature]] and a [[Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina|three-member presidency]] composed of one member of each major ethnic group.

==== Norway ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Norway}}

Official policy states that [[Norway]] was founded on the territory of two peoples, [[Norwegians]] and [[Sami people|Samis]].<ref>[http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/tema/samepolitikk.html?id=1403 Samepolitikk] {{in lang|no}} [[Regjeringen.no]], retrieved 17 July 2013</ref> In addition, [[Forest Finns]], [[Kven people|Kvens]], [[Jews in Norway|Jews]], [[Romani people|Romani]], and the [[Norwegian and Swedish Travellers]] are recognised as national minorities.<ref>[http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/tema/nasjonale_minoriteter.html?id=1404 Nasjonale minoriteter] {{in lang|no}} [[Regjeringen.no]], retrieved 17 July 2013</ref>

==== Spain ====

{{main|Ethnic groups in Spain|Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain}}

[[File:Spanish dialects in Spain-en.png|thumb|right|250px|Languages and dialects in Spain]]
Definitions of ethnicity and nationality in [[Spain]] are politically fraught, particularly since the transition from [[Francoist Spain]] to the (restored) Kingdom of Spain in the 1970s, when local regionalisms and peripheral nationalisms became a major part of national politics.

The term [[Spanish people]] (Spanish: ''pueblo español'') is defined in the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] as the political sovereign, i.e., the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution, in its preamble, speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" (''pueblos y nacionalidades de España'') and their respective cultures, traditions, languages, and institutions.

The ''CIA World Factbook'' (2011) describes Spain's ethnic makeup as a "composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types", instead of the usual breakdown of ethnic composition. This reflects the formation of the modern Kingdom of Spain by the accretion of numerous independent [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] realms: [[Andalusia]], [[Aragon]], [[Asturias]], [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], [[Catalonia]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Kingdom of León|León]], [[Majorca]], [[Navarre]], and [[Valencian Community|Valencia]]. Thus, today's Spaniards include [[Andalusians]], [[Aragonese people|Aragonese]], [[Asturians]], [[Basques]], [[Cantabrian people|Cantabrians]], [[Castilians]], [[Catalan people|Catalans]], [[Galicians]], [[Leonese people|Leonese]], and [[Valencian people|Valencians]], and individual members of these groups may or may not consider them distinct nations.

==== United Kingdom ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom}}
{{Home Nations}}
While the [[Office for National Statistics]] describes the [[United Kingdom]] as a nation state,<ref>{{cite web|title=ONS Glossary of economic terms|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/glossary/economic_terms.asp|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=24 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110907093405/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/glossary/glossary-u.html|archive-date=7 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Giddens|first=Anthony|title=Sociology|year=2006|publisher=Polity Press|isbn=978-0-7456-3379-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/sociology0005gidd/page/41 41]|location=Cambridge|url=https://archive.org/details/sociology0005gidd/page/41}}</ref> other people, including former Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]],<ref>"[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3556535/Gordon-Brown-We-must-defend-the-Union.html Gordon Brown: We must defend the Union]", ''The Telegraph'', 25 March 2008.</ref> describe it as a multinational state.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hogwood|first=Brian|title=Regulatory Reform in a Multinational State: The Emergence of Multilevel Regulation in the United Kingdom|url=http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/jointsessions/paperarchive/grenoble/ws20/hogwood.pdf|access-date=24 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608053831/http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/jointsessions/paperarchive/grenoble/ws20/hogwood.pdf|archive-date=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/sc-feb0659017b.pdf |title=Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615160114/http://www.devon.gov.uk/sc-feb0659017b.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-15 |website=Devon County Council |access-date=13 August 2010}}</ref> The term "[[Home Nations]]" is used to describe the national teams that represent the four nations of the United Kingdom: [[England]], [[Northern Ireland]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]] in various sports.<ref>{{cite news|last=Magnay|first=Jacquelin|title=London 2012: Hugh Robertson puts Home Nations football team on agenda|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/7768436/London-2012-Hugh-Robertson-puts-Home-Nations-football-team-on-agenda.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428173322/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/7768436/London-2012-Hugh-Robertson-puts-Home-Nations-football-team-on-agenda.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 April 2011|access-date=11 September 2010|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=26 May 2010}}</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] was created on 1 May 1707 by the [[political union]] of the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]].<ref>William E. Burns, ''A Brief History of Great Britain'', p. xxi</ref> This unification was the result of the [[Treaty of Union]], which was agreed on 22 July 1706 and then ratified by the parliaments of [[Parliament of England|England]] and [[Parliament of Scotland|Scotland]] in the 1707 [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/rise_parliament/docs/articles_union.htm|title=Articles of Union with Scotland 1707 |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=19 October 2008}}</ref> The two kingdoms, along with the [[Kingdom of Ireland]], had already been in a [[personal union]] as a result of the 1603 [[Union of the Crowns]], in which [[James I of England|James VI, King of Scots]], inherited the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and moved his [[court (royal)|court]] from [[Edinburgh]] to [[London]]. However, until 1707, all three had remained separate political entities with separate political institutions.<ref name="D. Ross, 2002 p. 56" /><ref name="J. Hearn, 2002 p. 104" />

Prior to the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland both had minority populations of their own that could themselves be called nations. [[Wales]] and [[Cornwall]] were part of the Kingdom of England (Wales had been officially incorporated into England by the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542]], although it had been a ''de facto'' English territory [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|since the 13th century]]; Cornwall had been conquered during the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon period]]). The [[Northern Isles]], with their [[Norsemen|Norse]]-derived culture, were part of Scotland, having been pledged by Norway as security against the payment of a [[dowry]] for [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/orkney-and-shetland-are-pawned-as-dowry/|title=Orkney and Shetland Are Pawned as Dowry ⋆ History Channel|date=2016-06-20|newspaper=History Channel|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> and then integrated in 1471. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was created, many of its inhabitants retained a sense of English, Scottish, or Welsh identity. Many of them also spoke languages other than English: principally [[Scottish Gaelic]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and [[Norn language|Norn]].

Almost a century later, the Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] under the 1800 [[Act of Union (1800)|Acts of Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actofunion.ac.uk/actofunion.htm#act |title=The Act of Union |publisher=Act of Union Virtual Library |access-date=15 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415061235/http://www.actofunion.ac.uk/actofunion.htm#act |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The United Kingdom thus became the union of the kingdoms of England, Ireland, and Scotland.<ref name="D. Ross, 2002 p. 56">D. Ross, ''Chronology of Scottish History'' (Glasgow: Geddes & Grosset, 2002), {{ISBN|1-85534-380-0}}, p. 56.</ref><ref name="J. Hearn, 2002 p. 104">J. Hearn, ''Claiming Scotland: National Identity and Liberal Culture'' (Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|1-902930-16-9}}, p. 104.</ref> Eventually, disputes within [[Ireland]] over the terms of [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish home rule]] led to the [[Partition of Ireland|partition of the island]]:<ref>[[SR&O 1921]]/533 of 3 May 1921</ref> The [[Irish Free State]] received [[Dominion|dominion status]] in 1922, while Northern Ireland remained part of the UK.<ref name="CAIN">{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/docs/ait1921.htm |title=The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 6 December 1921 |publisher=CAIN |access-date=15 May 2006}}</ref> As a result, in 1927, the formal title of the UK [[Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927|was changed]] to its current form, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<ref>P. Cottrell, ''The Irish Civil War 1922–23'' (London: Osprey, 2008), {{ISBN|1-84603-270-9}}, p. 85.</ref>

Political, ethnic, and religious tensions between [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[British people|British]] groups in Northern Ireland culminated in [[The Troubles]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/archive/events/the-troubles-gallery-40-years-of-conflict-in-northern-ireland-from-the-belfast-telegraph-archives-29947576.html|title=The Troubles gallery – 40 years of conflict in Northern Ireland from the Belfast Telegraph archives – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en}}</ref> This period of armed conflict erupted in 1966 between [[Ulster loyalism|loyalist]] paramilitaries, seeking to maintain the country's position in the UK, and [[Irish republicanism|republican]] paramilitaries, seeking to [[United Ireland|unify Ireland as a 32-county independent republic]]. The [[British Army]] also played a key role. Following the deaths of over 3,500 people,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/troubles_violence|title=BBC – History – The Troubles – Violence|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> a [[Good Friday Agreement|peace treaty]] was reached in 1998,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement|title=The Belfast Agreement – GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> although divisions remain high in some areas and sporadic violence still occurs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/03/union-flag-protests-arrested-northern-ireland|title=Union flag protests: more than 200 arrested in Northern Ireland|agency=Press Association|date=2013-04-03|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The end of the 20th century brought major governing changes, with the establishment of [[devolution|devolved]] national administrations for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales following pre-legislative [[Referendums in the United Kingdom|referendums]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Reforging the Union: Devolution and Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom|journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=217 |last=Keating |first=Michael |date=1 January 1998 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029948}}</ref>

The [[Scottish National Party]], the largest political party in Scotland, is committed to the goal of an [[Scottish independence|independent Scotland]] within the [[European Union]], but this is opposed by three of the four other parties in the Scottish Parliament. A [[referendum on Scottish independence]] was held in September 2014, and 55% of the electorate rejected independence in favour of retaining the union.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29270441|title=Scottish referendum: Scotland votes 'No' to independence|date=2014-09-19|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> [[Plaid Cymru]], a Welsh nationalist party, has a similar ambition for Wales. Plaid Cymru is currently the second- or third-largest party in Wales depending on how it is measured.<ref>Simon Jenkins, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article641379.ece We'd be a more united kingdom with an independent Scotland]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' dated September 17, 2006</ref> Several parties in Northern Ireland, including the second- and third-largest,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/ni2017/results|title=Northern Ireland Assembly election 2017 results|website=BBC News|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> seek to establish an independent United Ireland, and have repeatedly called for border polls.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-chief-gerry-adams-in-fresh-call-for-united-ireland-border-poll-35249176.html|title=Sinn Fein chief Gerry Adams in fresh call for united Ireland border poll – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en}}</ref> The [[D'Hondt method|d'Hondt system]] used in Northern Ireland means that either the First Minister or Deputy First Minister will be from one of these parties.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-13359731|title=D'Hondt system for picking NI ministers in Stormont|date=2011-05-11|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en-GB}}</ref>