Thomas Buchanan (born 30 July 1963) is a Unionist 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 ...

representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Buchanan has been a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...

(MLA) for West Tyrone since 2003. He is also one of the DUP's members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. He was educated at Langfield Primary School, Castlederg Secondary School, and at

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 m ...

Technical College. In 1993 he was elected to

Omagh District Council Omagh District Council was a local council in Northern Ireland. It merged with Fermanagh District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation to become Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Its headquarters was in the town ...

and became its youngest member and in 2004 was voted Vice Chairman. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003 being the only member from the DUP for West Tyrone until the 2007 election when he was joined by Allan Bresland who is originally from

Donemana Donemana or Dunnamanagh (named after the townland of Dunnamanagh, ) is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is 7 miles or 11 kilometres north-east of Strabane, on the banks of the Burn Dennett and at the foothills of the Sperri ...

and is a member of Strabane District Council. In July 2010, he complained about a display of bunting inside an

bank that celebrated a success by the

Tyrone GAA The Tyrone County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae Tír Eoghain), or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games ...

team. The bank had been sponsoring the Ulster Championship. Buchanan accused the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

(GAA) of being a political and Irish republican organisation. On 25 October 2013 Buchanan told school children attending a public event that homosexuality is an ‘abomination’. Buchanan believes in

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

. In September 2016 he supported an event promoting the teaching of creationism in every school, stating that “I’m someone who believes in creationism and that the world was spoken into existence in six days by His power.”

References

1963 births Living people Politicians from County Tyrone Members of Omagh District Council Members of Strabane District Council Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Christian creationists Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub