Sean Nial Farren (born 6 September 1939) is an Irish people Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician and academic who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 1998 to 2007.
Since 2008 he has been a visiting professor in the School of Education at Ulster University. He has also been involved in a number of projects aimed at strengthening democratic institutions in the Middle East, North Africa, West and East Africa.
He is currently a member of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University, a Trustee of Concern Worldwide (UK), a member of the Standing Committee of the Development Studies Association of Ireland (DSAI) and a committee member of the Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership (SLIP).
In 1982, Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in North Antrim. In line with SDLP policy, he instead sat on the New Ireland Forum (1983–4).
Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, again for North Antrim, and held this seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003, before standing down at the 2007 election.
He has written many book chapters, peer reviewed and other articles. He also wrote the paper Sunningdale: An Agreement Too Soon? , in which the circumstances behind the agreement and the elements that caused its collapse are examined.
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