Douglas Ricardo Beattie (born 13 October 1965) is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, who has been leader of the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
; his father was a
warrant officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
in the
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...
, a regiment of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. The family returned to
Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
,
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
,
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 ...
, when he was 10 following the ending of his father's regular service. The family moved into a house in Union Street, in the densely-populated Edgarstown area on the outskirts of the town centre.
Beattie's mother died young, leaving his father (who had by this time enlisted with the
Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...
) to raise him, his three sisters and two brothers. At the age of 15 he accidentally shot a friend when the two of them found Beattie Snr's personal protection weapon and were playing with it. Although shot in the head, his friend recovered.
Military career
At the age of 16, in 1982, Beattie joined the
Royal Irish Rangers
The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal Iris ...
and following training was posted to the 2nd Battalion who were stationed in Wavell Barracks,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.
In over 28 years of service, he rose to the rank of Warrant Officer First Class (WO1) and was appointed
regimental sergeant major
Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australia ...
. During that time he served in Bosnia,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and Northern Ireland, being awarded the General Officer NI commendation, the
Garmsir
Garmsir ( ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is the center of Garmsir District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Helmand River on at 714 m altitude and 63 km southwest ...
in
Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
. As a result of his actions during the intense fighting over several days, he was recommended for, and subsequently awarded, the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC ...
.
Following his return from Afghanistan, Beattie published the first of two books, ''An Ordinary Soldier'', which became an immediate best seller in the United Kingdom and propelled him into the public eye. Beattie's follow-up book was ''Task Force Helmand''.
Political career
After retiring from the army, Beattie joined the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
and was elected to Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council for the Portadown area in the 2014 local elections.
In May 2016, he was elected as an MLA for the Upper Bann constituency.
Before the 2017 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, Beattie was named by commentators as a possible contender to replace former leader Mike Nesbitt; however, in the end only Robin Swann ran, and was elected unopposed. In October 2019, after Swann announced he was standing down as leader of the party, Beattie ruled himself out of contention as the next leader and endorsed former Royal Navy commander Steve Aiken and served as Deputy instead.
Beattie stood as a candidate for Member of Parliament for Upper Bann in the 2019 General Election. He came fourth, losing to Carla Lockhart of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
In May and September 2020 Beattie was threatened by the South East Antrim UDA after he condemned threats they had made against journalists.
Beattie announced in May 2021 that he was putting his name forward to be the next leader of the UUP. He said that he would be "able to reach out to all people in Northern Ireland regardless of what your religion is, sexual orientation or ethnicity". Beattie was elected unopposed on 17 May 2021, and officially became leader on 27 May 2021.
In January 2022, Beattie apologised after posting a joke on Twitter about the wife of DUP politician Edwin Poots. In the aftermath, several of Beattie's historic tweets re-emerged, containing content that was perceived as "casually misogynistic", and including derogatory comments about women and members of the
Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...
community. The tweets were posted between 2011 and 2014, while Beattie was still a serving soldier and before he entered politics. Beattie said that he was "deeply ashamed" of the tweets.
Beattie attended protests against the
Northern Ireland Protocol
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol, is a protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement that governs the unique customs and immigration issues at the border on the island of Ireland betw ...
, the post-
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
trade arrangements. In March 2022, he announced he would continue to oppose the Protocol but would no longer take part in the series of rallies. Beattie said they had been hijacked by
loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
to raise tensions "that now see a resurgence in UVF activity". Following this, his constituency office in Portadown was attacked, and a poster of a noose around his neck appeared at a loyalist rally in
Lurgan
Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...
.
Views
Beattie has been characterized as a 'progressive' and 'liberal' within the UUP, but said upon his election as leader that those with conservative values had "nothing to fear" from him and that he would "tread a path to make sure that your voice is heard and I will never denigrate your opinion". He proposed a motion in Stormont calling for a ban on
gay conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and clin ...
, which passed, and argued it is "fundamentally wrong to view our LGBTQ community as requiring a fix or cure"."Doug Beattie: Who is the new leader of the UUP?" BBC News, 17 May 2021.
Beattie is against the
Northern Ireland Protocol
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol, is a protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement that governs the unique customs and immigration issues at the border on the island of Ireland betw ...
, the post-
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
trade arrangements, believing it is damaging to the
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
. He said "I do not want a hardened border on the island of Ireland, but neither do I want a border in the Irish Sea".
A former soldier, Beattie has pressed for Northern Ireland to adopt the Armed Forces Covenant and ensure support for military veterans and their families. He also argues that soldiers who served during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
should not be immune from prosecution, saying "Soldiers were here to stand between the terrorists and the terrorised. If they went outside the law then they have to face the law"."Troubles soldiers need legal protection says Sir Jeffrey Donaldson" BBC News, 22 April 2021.