The Lord Trimble | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| First Minister of Northern Ireland | |
| In office 1 July 1998 – 14 October 2002[a] Serving with Seamus Mallon and Mark Durkan | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | John Reid[b](as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) Ian Paisley (2007) |
| 12th Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | |
| In office 8 September 1995 – 24 June 2005 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | James Molyneaux |
| Succeeded by | Reg Empey |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly for Upper Bann | |
| In office 25 June 1998 – 7 March 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | George Savage |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 2 June 2006 – 25 July 2022 | |
| Member of Parliament for Upper Bann | |
| In office 17 May 1990 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Harold McCusker |
| Succeeded by | David Simpson |
| Northern Ireland Forum Member for Upper Bann | |
| In office 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Forum created |
| Succeeded by | Forum dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William David Trimble 15 October 1944 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 25 July 2022 (aged 77) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Political party |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast (LLB) |
| Profession |
|
| Awards | Nobel Peace Prize (1998) |
| Website | Official website |
| a. ^ Reg Empey served as Acting First Minister from 1 July to 6 November 2001. b. ^ During the periods of suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland assumed the responsibilities of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. At the time of suspension the Northern Ireland Secretary was John Reid. | |
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005.[2] He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007.
Trimble began his career teaching law at The Queen's University of Belfast in the 1970s, during which time he began to get involved with the paramilitary-linked Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party (VPUP). He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975, and joined the UUP in 1978 after the VPUP disbanded.[2] Remaining at Queen's University, he continued his academic career until being elected as the MP for Upper Bann in 1990. In 1995 he was unexpectedly elected as the leader of the UUP.[2] He was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and (along with John Hume) won the Nobel Peace Prize that year for his efforts. He was later elected to become the first First Minister of Northern Ireland, although his tenure was turbulent and frequently interrupted by disagreements over the timetable for Provisional Irish Republican Army decommissioning.
Trimble resigned the leadership of the UUP soon after being defeated at the 2005 general election. In June 2006, he accepted a life peerage in the House of Lords, taking the title of Baron Trimble, of Lisnagarvey in the County of Antrim.[3] He did not stand again for the Assembly, which finally reconvened in 2007, instead leaving the UUP to join the Conservative Party.[4]
- ^ "Elvis Presley". Great Lives. 14 August 2007. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- ^ a b c "David Trimble (British politician)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 October 1944. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ "No. 58004". The London Gazette. 7 June 2006. p. 7793.
- ^ "Statement by the Rt. Hon. The Lord Trimble, Tuesday, 17 April 2007". Official website (Press release). David Trimble. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
Consequently I have decided to join the Conservatives.