Michael McGimpsey

Michael McGimpsey (born 1 July 1948) is a former MLA who represented the people of South Belfast at Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Executive for twenty three years.

Michael McGimpsey
Michael McGimpsey at a 2011 rally for the murdered police officer Ronan Kerr
Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
In office
8 May 2007 – 16 May 2011
First MinisterPeter Robinson
Preceded byOffice suspended
Last incumbent: Bairbre de Brún
Succeeded byEdwin Poots
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Belfast, South
In office
25 June 1998 – 7 May 2016
Preceded byNew Creation
Succeeded byChristopher Stalford
Personal details
Born (1948-06-01) 1 June 1948
Donaghadee, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Political partyUlster Unionist Party
Spouse(s)Maureen McGimpsey
Children2
ResidenceNewtownards
Alma materTrinity College, Dublin
ProfessionBusinessman

McGimpsey was born in Donaghadee, County Down and was educated in Regent House Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin.[1] He is a businessman aside from politics involved in property development,[2] hotels and the hospitality sector. In the mid-1980s he came to prominence alongside his brother Christopher when they challenged the Anglo-Irish Agreement by bringing a suit against the Irish government in the High Court of the Republic of Ireland, arguing that the Agreement was invalid because it contradicted Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland[3] (this argument was unusual coming from Unionists because of the traditional Unionist opposition to these two articles.) The case failed in the High Court, and again on appeal to the Supreme Court.

McGimpsey's UUP office is located on Sandy Row in south Belfast.

Early political career

In 1993 he was first elected to Belfast City Council.[4] For the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum election McGimpsey was third on the UUP list.[5] As a result, he was not involved in the negotiations for the Belfast Agreement. In 1998 McGimpsey was the first member to be elected for South Belfast on the 5th count.[6] to the Northern Ireland Assembly. He was appointed to serve as Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure in the Northern Ireland Executive from 1999 until the collapse of the Executive in 2002.[7] One of his achievements was the digitising of the Ulster Covenant by the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.

Westminster elections

2001

In the run-up to the 2001 UK general election McGimpsey challenged sitting MP Martin Smyth for the Ulster Unionist nomination for Belfast South and gained 43% of the valid poll. In light of anti-agreement Smyth's selection the then anti-agreement Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) did not stand a candidate, but the pro-agreement Progressive Unionist Party was prompted to put one up. McGimpsey, however endorsed Smyth.[8]

2005

In 2005 the sitting UUP MP Martin Smyth retired and McGimpsey was selected as the official UUP candidate for the south Belfast constituency in the 2005 general election following a close selection campaign against an unknown figure, Christopher Montgomery.[9][10] The Democratic Unionist Party, for the first time in over twenty years, stood a candidate in the form of former policeman Jimmy Spratt. In the battle between the two Unionist parties, both Smyth and former Ulster Unionist leader James Molyneaux appeared in a photograph with Jimmy Spratt which was included in his election literature. While Smyth subsequently claimed that this was "just a photo" that did not constitute an endorsement, "two Ulster Unionists had let it be known in the most public fashion that they preferred an unknown DUP candidate to the man selected by their own party".[11] When the results were declared the poll was split three ways, with Social Democratic and Labour Party politician and part-time GP, Alasdair McDonnell winning the seat. Such an eventuality had been anticipated before the election in discussions between the UUP and DUP about an election pact involving Fermanagh and South Tyrone and Belfast South amongst other constituencies.[12] David Burnside is known to have favoured the pact benefiting Tom Elliott, as he felt that Elliott could unite Unionists in Fermanagh and South Tyrone more readily than McGimpsey could in South Belfast.[13]

2010

In December 2009, McGimpsey ruled himself out from standing in South Belfast in the 2010 General Election, saying that he felt he would best serve his constituents by continuing to work as Minister for Health.[14]

2007 Assembly election

In the Assembly election of March 2007 McGimpsey retained his seat but the UUP's vote in South Belfast fell from 27.0% in 2003 to 18.4% of the popular vote in 2007,[15] which resulted in the party losing its second seat, originally held by Esmond Birnie, which was picked up by Anna Lo of the Alliance Party

Ulster Unionist Party

McGimpsey was politically close to David Trimble and at once talked of as a future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, however he has never been a potential or actual challenger to a UUP leadership election. Politically McGimpsey is seen as being on the left of the Ulster Unionists and is a member of the Unionist Labour Group.

References
  1. "Biography: Michael McGimpsey". Northern Ireland Assembly. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  2. "Register of Members Interests: McGIMPSEY, Michael". Northern Ireland Assembly. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  3. "Constitutional background to and aspects of the Good Friday Agreement". BBC NI. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  4. "Belfast City Council Elections 1993–2005". ARK. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  5. "1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in South Belfast". ARK. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  6. "South Belfast: Details of each count in 1998 election". ARK. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  7. "Who's on the Executive?". ARK. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  8. "Smyth wins UUP selection battle". BBC News. 16 February 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  9. http://www.u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?pt=n&id=57200 UTV Archived 1 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 59 referred to in error as Colin Montgomery.
  11. Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 58
  12. Gordon, Gareth (1 April 2005). "Unionists discuss election pact". BBC News. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  13. Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 60
  14. "McGimpsey not standing in Belfast". BBC News. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  15. "South Belfast". ARK. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
Northern Ireland Assembly
New assembly MLA for Belfast, South
1998–2016		 Succeeded by
Christopher Stalford
Political offices
New office Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure
1999–2000		 Vacant
Office suspended
Title next held by
self
Vacant
Office suspended
Title last held by
self		 Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure
2000–2002		 Vacant
Office suspended
Title next held by
Edwin Poots
Vacant
Office suspended
Title last held by
Bairbre de Brún		 Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
2007–2011		 Succeeded by
Edwin Poots
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