Joseph Burns (born 19 July 1906, date of death unknownReport on Northern Ireland's oldest man
/ref>) was an

Ulster Unionist 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 movem ...

member of the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

. He represented North Londonderry from 1960 to 1973. Born 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 ...

and educated at

Rainey Endowed School Rainey Endowed School, known colloquially as "The Rainey", is a voluntary grammar school in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in 1713 and has an enrolment of around 700 pupils. Each year group has a tota ...

Magherafelt Magherafelt (, �mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...

, County Londonderry and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, he was an auctioneer and valuer, a farmer in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and a stockbroker. In 1920, he joined the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the part ...

. He served as Assistant Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Assistant Whip from 1968 until 1969, when he resigned his post. He was chairman of the '66 Committee of Unionist backbenchers from 1970. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Social Services from 1971 until the prorogation of the Parliament in 1972. He was Chairman of the United Unionist Action Council in 1977.

Sources

Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
1906 births Year of death missing New York University alumni Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1958–1962 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1962–1965 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1965–1969 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1969–1973 Northern Ireland junior government ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) People educated at Rainey Endowed School Politicians from Belfast British stockbrokers Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Londonderry constituencies {{Parliament-of-Northern-Ireland-member-stub