The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905,emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson,it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement. Following the partition of Ireland,it was the governing party of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles,during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP).
William David Trimble,Baron Trimble,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. 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.
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson is a British politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997,and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons since 2019. As of 2022,he is Northern Ireland's longest-serving MP.
James Henry Molyneaux,Baron Molyneaux of Killead,KBE,PC was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995,and as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 1970 to 1983,and later Lagan Valley from 1983 to 1997. An Orangeman,he was also Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution from 1971 to 1995,and a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.
William Martin Smyth is a Northern Irish unionist clergyman-politician. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,he was Grand Master of the Orange Order during much of the Troubles and served as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South from 1982 to 2005. He was also a vice-president of the Conservative Monday Club.
Sylvia Eileen,Lady Hermon is a retired Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Down from 2001 to 2019.
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP),informally known as Ulster Vanguard,was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig,the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and was closely affiliated with several loyalist paramilitary groups. The party was set up in opposition to power sharing with Irish nationalist parties. It opposed the Sunningdale Agreement and was involved in extra-parliamentary activity against the agreement. However,in 1975,during discussions on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland in the constitutional convention,William Craig suggested the possibility of voluntary power sharing with the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party. In consequence the party split,with dissenters forming the United Ulster Unionist Party. Thereafter Vanguard declined and following poor results in the 1977 local government elections,Craig merged the remainder of Vanguard into the UUP in February 1978.
The United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.
Peter James Weir,Baron Weir of Ballyholme is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who served as Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2016 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2021. Weir was the first non-Sinn Féin legislator to head the Department of Education since the department came into existence on 2 December 1999.
The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on 7 May 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following his party's poor performance in the 2005 general election when it lost all but one of its seats,including Trimble's own. Following his resignation,the UUP's executive committee charged Sir Reg Empey,Lady Hermon and Lord Rogan with the interim leadership of the Party.
Major Robert Alan McFarland is an Independent Unionist politician in Northern Ireland,who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 1998 to 2011.
Michael McGimpsey is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 1998 to 2016.
The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday,7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties,the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin,along with the Alliance Party,increase their support,with falls in support for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
The Belfast South by-election was held on 4 March 1982 following the death of Robert Bradford,Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament for Belfast South.
David McNarry is a UK Independence Party (UKIP) politician in Northern Ireland,who was the leader of UKIP Northern Ireland from 2012 to 2016. He stood for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in North Down in the 1982 Assembly elections but failed to be elected. He was first elected as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford as an Ulster Unionist member in 2003 and subsequently re-elected in 2007 and again in 2011,before parting company with the UUP in 2012 and joining UKIP. He is a former UUP chief whip and education spokesman.
The Northern Ireland Conservatives is a section of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party that operates in Northern Ireland. The party won 0.03% of the vote in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election and 0.7% of the vote in the 2019 United Kingdom General election in Northern Ireland.
Frank Millar is a Northern Irish journalist and former unionist politician.
The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday,5 May,following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998.
An election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was held on 22 September 2010.
The 2010 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland occurred on 6 May 2010 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,169,184 people were eligible to vote,up 29,191 from the 2005 general election. 57.99% of eligible voters turned out,down 5.5 percentage points from the last general election.
