Reg Empey

1977–1984

Further information: Decommissioning in Northern Ireland

On 30 June 2001 David Trimble temporarily resigned as First Minister of Northern Ireland at midnight and appointed Empey to fulfil the functions of the office for the interim period until disagreements between the parties over demcomissioning had been resolved. Empey was one of Trimble's strongest supporters. ^[17]

As alluded to above, Empey's premiership was marked by the continuing impasse arising from the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s refusal of Trimble's demands that it decommission its arms, as per the commitments all parties had signed up to in section 7 pt. 3 (page 25) ^[18] of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. ^[19]

Empey and the UUP's two other ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive resigned from their ministerial positions on 18 October 2001, putting a seven day deadline on solving the crisis before being renominated on 24 October 2001.

On 2 November 2001, he proposed a motion ‘That the Rt Hon David Trimble, MP, MLA be First Minister and that Mr Mark Durkan, MLA be Deputy First Minister of the Assembly’, but it was defeated after two members of Trimble's party voted against him. Therefore Empey continued as First Minister until Trimble was finally elected on 6 November in another motion proposed by Empey. The motion succeeded after three Alliance MLAs changed their designation temporarily from 'Other' to 'Unionist'. ^{[20] [21]}

Personal life

Reg and Stella Empey have two children. Empey is a member of the Orange Order, his lodge being Eldon LOL 7, in the Belfast district. Lady Empey was appointed MBE in the 2007 New Year Honours for services to the community in Northern Ireland and died in 2023. ^[22]

Electoral history

Empey first stood for election in the 1975 elections to the Constitutional Convention, standing as a candidate in Belfast East for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party he received 4657 first preference votes he was elected. In the 1977 Local Government elections he received 981 first preference votes and was unsuccessful (he did not run in the 1981 Local Government Elections), and the 1982 Assembly election he received 503 first preference votes. ^{[ citation needed ]}

In the 1985 Local Government election, he was elected to Belfast City Council with 1117 first preference votes, this was reduced in the subsequent 1989 local government election to 864. ^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1993 he was elected having attained 1295 first preference votes, and was elected again in 1997 with 2309 first preference votes. However this still left him behind his main DUP rival in the Pottinger Electoral Area, Sammy Wilson. ^[23]

Empey stood in every election since 1998 to the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly until the 2011 election. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1998 polling 12.8% of the popular vote, in 2003, 20.9% of the popular vote, and in 2007, 14% of the popular vote. Empey also stood against DUP MP for East Belfast Peter Robinson in the 2005 Westminster election polling 30.1% of the vote but failing to get elected. ^[24]

In the 2010 general election, Empey contested the South Antrim seat, but was defeated by the incumbent William McCrea for the DUP.

References

1. "Empey jumps to it". Belfast Telegraph. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
2. O'Day, Alan (2014). Longman Handbook of Modern Irish History Since 1800. Taylor & Francis. p. 99. ISBN   9781317897101. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
3. "No. 53527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1993. p. 11.
4. "Good Friday Agreement - 20 years on". 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021– via www.bbc.co.uk.
5. "No. 55610". The London Gazette . 14 September 1999. p. 9844.
6. Some good can come out of Presbyterian Mutual collapse Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine , thenews.coop, 19 March 2009.
7. Empey, Lord (17 October 2011). "CoIt is time for Libya to pay for IRA attacks". Exaro News . Retrieved 30 January 2012.
8. "UUP leader Empey to go in autumn". 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021– via news.bbc.co.uk.
9. "Sir Reg Empey confirms resignation". Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021– via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
10. "The Guardian – Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey to step down next month". The Guardian. London. Press Association. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
11. "BBC News – Sir Reg Empey to become a peer". BBC News. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
12. "Latest peerages announced". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
13. "No. 59676". The London Gazette . 20 January 2011. p. 869.
14. Latest peerages announced, gov.uk. Accessed 10 January 2023.
15. Foster, Alice (2 March 2017). "Lords vote REVEALED: How each peer voted on the Brexit bill last night". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
16. Empey, Reg (21 April 2023). "Belfast Agreement @25: Brexit has been a disaster for unionism yet its advocates won't admit this, writes Reg Empey".
17. "Sir Reg Empey: A profile". 30 June 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
18. "The Agreement" (PDF). Northern Ireland Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
19. "The long and arduous road to paramilitary decommissioning". Belfast Telegraph. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
20. "Northern Ireland chronology: 2001". 9 April 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
21. "The Northern Ireland Assembly - Chronology". archive.niassembly.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
22. Tributes paid following death of Lady Stella Empey, wife of former UUP leader
23. "Northern Ireland Elections – who won what and where?". ARK. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
24. "East Belfast". www.ark.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.

The Right Honourable The Lord Empey OBE
Official portrait, 2024
First Minister of Northern Ireland
Acting
In office 1 July 2001 –6 November 2001 Servingwith Seamus Mallon		Deputy Leader

Civic offices
Vacant Title last held by Dixie Gilmore	Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast 1988–1989	Vacant Title next held by Eric Smyth
Preceded by Nigel Dodds	Lord Mayor of Belfast 1989–1990	Succeeded by Fred Cobain
Preceded by Herbert Ditty	Lord Mayor of Belfast 1993–1994	Succeeded by Hugh Smyth
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
New convention	Member for East Belfast 1975–1976	Convention dissolved
Northern Ireland Forum
New forum	Member for East Belfast 1996–1998	Forum dissolved
Northern Ireland Assembly
New assembly Good Friday Agreement	Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast East 1998–2002	Succeeded by Michael Copeland
Political offices
New office Good Friday Agreement	Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 1998–2002	Vacant Office suspended Title next held by Nigel Dodds
Vacant Office suspended Title last held by Carmel Hanna	Minister for Employment and Learning 2007–2010	Succeeded by Danny Kennedy
Party political offices
Preceded by David Trimble	Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party 2005–2010	Succeeded by Tom Elliott
Preceded by David Campbell	Chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party 2012–2019	Succeeded by Danny Kennedy
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by The Lord Wood of Anfield	Gentlemen Baron Empey	Followed by The Lord Palmer of Childs Hill