Michael McGimpsey MLA
Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Incumbent
Assumed office  May 8, 2007
Preceded by	Bairbre de Brun
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South
Born	June 1, 1948 (1948-06-01) (age 60) Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Website	michaelmcgimpsey.org

Cllr Michael McGimpsey MLA (born July 1, 1948) is an Ulster Unionist Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast South who has twice served in the Northern Ireland Executive. Bairbre de Brún (born 10 January 1954 in Dublin) is one of two Sinn Féin MEPs and the first Sinn Féin politician to represent The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Donaghadee ( is a small Town in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated on the east coast about from Belfast and about eight miles (13 km County Down, ( Ulster Scots: Coontie Doun. is one of the nine counties that form the province of Ulster and one of six counties that form Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or in a historic sense simply the Unionist Party "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Member of the Legislative Assembly ( MLA) is a representative elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland. Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved Legislature for Northern Ireland Once seen as a successor to David Trimble^[1], McGimpsey now serves as Northern Ireland's Health Minister with responsibility for nearly half of the NI Executive's budget. William David Trimble Baron Trimble (born 15 October 1944 is a Northern Irish Politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster

McGimpsey was born in Donaghadee, County Down and was educated in Regent House Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin^[2]. Donaghadee ( is a small Town in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated on the east coast about from Belfast and about eight miles (13 km County Down, ( Ulster Scots: Coontie Doun. is one of the nine counties that form the province of Ulster and one of six counties that form Regent House School Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae He is a businessman aside from politics involved in property development^[3]. 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^[4]. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to bring an end to The Troubles in Northern Ireland The Government of Ireland (Rialtas na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The High Court (An Ard-Chúirt of Ireland is a Court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases and also Article 2 and Article 3 of the Constitution of Ireland ( Bunreacht na hÉireann) were adopted with the constitution as a whole on 29 December 1937 but completely (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. The Supreme Court (Cúirt Uachtarach is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland.

Early political career

In 1993 he was first elected to Belfast City Council^[5]. Belfast City Council is the City council for Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum election McGimpsey was third on the UUP list^[6]. The Northern Ireland Forum, or formally the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 to conduct the negotiations that eventually As a result he was not involved in the negotiations for the Belfast Agreement. The Agreement, most often referred to as the Belfast Agreement (Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste Belfast Greeance or the Good Friday Agreement (Comhaontú Aoine an In 1998 McGimpsey was the first member to be elected for South Belfast on the 5th count^[7] to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved 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^[8]. The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved Legislature for Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved Legislature for Northern Ireland

Westminster elections

North Down by-election, 1995

McGimpsey was one of five candidates to stand for the Ulster Unionist nomination in the 1995 by-election following the death of Sir Jim Kilfedder. The North Down by-election, in the North Down constituency, was held on 15 June 1995, following the death of James Kilfedder, who had represented Sir James Alexander Kilfedder ( 16 July 1928 &ndash 20 March 1995) was a Northern Ireland unionist politician The eventual winner was Alan McFarland who surprised many by beating Reg Empey for the nomination^[9]

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 but only gained 43% of the valid poll. Major Robert Alan McFarland MLA (born 9 August 1949 in Plumbridge, County Tyrone) is an Ulster Unionist Party politician Sir Reginald Norman Morgan Empey MLA (born October 26, 1947) is a Northern Ireland politician and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Results |} Total votes cast 26368204 All parties with more than 500 votes shown Reverend William Martin Smyth (born June 15, 1931) is a Northern Ireland unionist politician and was Ulster Unionist Party Member In light of anti-agreement Smyth's selection the then anti-agreement DUP did not stand a candidate, but the pro-agreement PUP was prompted to put one up. The Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. See Ulster Progressive Unionist Association, for the political group founded in 1938 The Progressive Unionist Party ( PUP) is a small McGimpsey, however endorsed Smyth. ^[10].

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 ^[11][12]. Belfast South is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. Results Overview For events leading up to the date of the election see article Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom general The Democratic Unionist Party for the first time in over twenty years stood a candidate in the form of former policeman Jimmy Spratt. The Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Jimmy Spratt is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland In 2007 he was elected as a Democratic Unionist Party member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for 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. James Henry Molyneaux Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC (born August 27, 1920) is a Northern Irish Unionist politician 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" ^[13]. 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. The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP; Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949 Cushendall, County Antrim) is a Northern Irish politician deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 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 South Belfast amongst other constituencies^[14]. David Burnside is known to have favored 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. David Wilson Boyd Burnside MLA (born 24 August, 1951) is a Northern Ireland politician and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament Tom Elliott MLA (born 11 December 1963 is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA ^[15].

2007 Assembly election

In the Assembly election of March 2007 McGimpsey retained his seat however the UUP's vote in South Belfast fell from 27. The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were selected 0% in 2003 to 18. 4% of the popular vote in 2007^[16], 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 one stage talked of as a future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. Dr John Esmond Birnie, (born 6 January 1965) is an author Economist, and Ulster Unionist Party politician Anna Manwah Lo (盧曼華 MLA is an Alliance Party politician from Northern Ireland. The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI is a Political party in Northern Ireland. William David Trimble Baron Trimble (born 15 October 1944 is a Northern Irish Politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster However his poor election result meant that when Trimble resigned after the election McGimpsey was not considered in the contest to succeed him. The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on May 7 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following Politically McGimpsey is seen as being on the left of the Ulster Unionists and is a member of the Unionist Labour Group.

References

1. ^ BBC News
2. ^ http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs/mmcgimpsey.htm NI Assembly bio
3. ^ [1] Register of Members’ Interests July 2007
4. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/constitutional/support/ci_c094.shtml BBC Report
5. ^ http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/lgbelfast.htm ARK
6. ^ ARK list
7. ^ [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/98sb.htm ARK
8. ^ http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gwhoexec.htm ARK
9. ^ Feargal Cochrane in Irish Political Studies, 11:1, 168 - 173 pg 169
10. ^ BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | Smyth wins UUP selection battle
11. ^ http://www.u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?pt=n&id=57200 UTV
12. ^ Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 59 referred to in error as Colin Montgomery.
13. ^ Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 58
14. ^ BBC report - Gareth Gordon
15. ^ Kerr, Michael, 'David Trimble and the 2005 General election', Dublin (2005) pg 60
16. ^ South Belfast