Jim Rodgers OBE is a politician from

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 ...

who was previously the

High Sheriff of Belfast The High Sheriff of Belfast is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. Like other high sheriff positions, it is largely a ceremonial post today. The ...

, (succeeded by Incumbent Alderman Thomas Haire 16 January 2017) the judicial representative of the sovereign in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. He is an elected

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 ...

Councillor and appointed

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

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 ...

Work

In 1973, he stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the

Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party 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 Un ...

in the election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. In 1996, he was elected to the

Northern Ireland Peace Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

for East Belfast. Rodgers stood in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2003 and 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly elections for East Belfast but was unsuccessful on each occasion. He is a councillor for Ormiston DEA on

and was elected as

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 ...

in 2001. Rodgers was again elected Lord Mayor in 2007, he had the backing of the

(UUP) group on the council and the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP). Currently Rodgers is Chairman of Belfast Education and Library Board, Ex-Chairman of Belfast District Policing Partnership. He is also a member of the Sports Council and Northern Ireland Events Company. He is also a former director of Glentoran FC but resigned from his position a few days before a winding up order from HMRC was due to be heard by the High Court in January 2011. At a DPP meeting in Short Strand Community centre on 15 June 2009, he claimed he had been attacked with eggs and stones by members of the IRSP. In 2010, dressed as a tomato, Ms Mallon who was taking part in the launch of a gourmet garden event in Botanic Gardens, when Mr Rodgers tried to leapfrog over her, causing back injury that resulted in a £24,000 payment.

References

Members of Belfast City Council Living people Lord Mayors of Belfast High Sheriffs of Belfast Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ulster Unionist Party councillors Year of birth missing (living people) {{NorthernIreland-mayor-stub