The Northern Secretary is to marry his film-director fiancée in the spring. Dr John Reid, whose wife Cathie died of a heart attack over two years ago, will marry Brazilian-born but English-raised Ms Carine Adler "in the not-too-distant future", according to his spokesman.
The wedding is expected to be held next month in London, but details are being withheld because of security concerns. Dr Reid's two sons and Ms Adler's son from a previous marriage are due to be at the ceremony.
The couple appeared at a photocall yesterday at Hillsborough Castle, Dr Reid's official residence near Belfast. "The couple are planning a small private ceremony . . . to which family and a few close personal friends will be invited," the spokesman said.
Ms Adler was born in Rio de Janeiro and trained at the Centrum School of Speech and Drama and the National Film and Television School in London. She won acclaim as director of her debut film, Under the Skin, made in 1997, which charts the lives of two sisters after the sudden death of their mother.
It won the Critics Prize at the Toronto Film Festival in 1997 and was voted best British feature film at Edinburgh in the same year.