David Somerville Cook (25 January 194419 September 2020) was an English-born solicitor and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was a founding member of the non-sectarian, liberal-centre Alliance Party in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He served on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...

from 1973 to 1986, and in 1978 he became the first non- Unionist

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...

since 1898. He was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly of 1982 and served on that body until its abolishment in 1986. He was appointed Chair of the Police Authority of Northern Ireland in 1994 and held that position until his resignation from the role in 1996.

Early life

Cook was born on 25 January 1944, to Francis John Granville Cook and Jocelyn McKay ( Stewart) in

Leicester, England Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nati ...

. As a child, he moved to Northern Ireland with his parents and sisters after his father was appointed headmaster of

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

in 1954.

Political career

Cook worked as a solicitor, eventually becoming a senior partner at Sheldon and Stewart Solicitors. In 1970, Cook was a founder member of the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

(APNI), a

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are Secularity, secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian i ...

party, while he was elected to the party's Central Executive in 1971. He was elected to

in 1973, a position he held until 1985. In 1978, he became the first non-Unionist

since

William James Pirrie William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1924) was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland and Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lor ...

, a Home Rule Liberal, in 1896–1898. He stood for APNI in Belfast South in the February 1974 general election, taking just under 10% of the vote. He was able to improve to 27% of the vote at the

1982 Belfast South by-election 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. Bradford had held the seat since the February 1974 general election, initially ...

. Following this, he won a seat on the Northern Ireland Assembly representing Belfast South. In the 1983 general election, 1986 by-election and 1987 general election, he consistently won over 20% of the votes cast in Belfast South. He also stood for Alliance in the

1984 European Parliament election Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, but took only 4% of the vote. From 1980 to 1984, Cook served as the Deputy Leader of APNI. In 1994, Cook became the Chairman of the Police Authority of Northern Ireland, but he was sacked from this role in 1996 after losing a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. After a critical account of his role in an internal row in that authority appeared in newspapers in 1998, he undertook a lengthy libel case which was ultimately settled out of court. He subsequently sat on the Craigavon Health and Social Services Trust.

Death

On 20 September 2020, it was announced that Cook had died after being diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland The COVID-19 pandemic reached Northern Ireland in February 2020. The Department of Health reports 3,445 deaths overall among people who had recently tested positive. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency reports 5,029 where th ...

. According to his family, he died on 19 September 2020, at Craigavon Area Hospital. He had suffered a stroke two years before. He was survived by his wife Fionnuala, his sisters Alison and Nora, his daughter Barbary, his sons John, Patrick, Julius, and Dominic, and his granddaughters Romy and Imogen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, David Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politicians Members of Belfast City Council Lord Mayors of Belfast Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Solicitors from Northern Ireland 1944 births 2020 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland Alliance Party of Northern Ireland councillors Politicians from Leicester Alliance Party parliamentary candidates