Billy Leonard (born 13 January 1955) is an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

retired

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ; ) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members – five from each of 18 constituencies, the boundaries o ...

(MLA) for East Londonderry from 2010 to 2011. A former

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

(SDLP) officeholder, he then joined

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

, but is now an Independent Republican.

Background

Born in

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...

to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family,SDLP man defects to Sinn Fein
, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 19 January 2004 Leonard is a former member of both the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

reserve and the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

. He was also a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

lay preacher. His wife, Valerie, is a Roman Catholic from the Kilwilkie republican estate in Lurgan, and their children were raised in her faith.

Career

In 2001, Leonard was elected in the Skerries area of

Coleraine Borough Council Coleraine Borough Council was a local council mainly in County Londonderry and partly in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council in May 2015 under local g ...

as a representative of the SDLP, having joined them while studying political science at the University of Ulster,Coleraine Borough Council Elections 1993–2005
/ref> but left in 2004 to join

. He cited the SDLP's lack of emphasis on Irish unity for his departure from the party. He was the first Sinn Féin member of the council, and was re-elected in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

in the Bann area. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in East Londonderry at the 2005 general election, and in the constituency of the same name at the

2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two ...

. Leonard was nominated by Sinn Féin to succeed

Francie Brolly Francis Brolly (13 January 1938 – 6 February 2020) was an Irish musician, teacher and Irish republicanism, republican politician from Northern Ireland. Brolly was a Sinn Féin Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry ...

on the latter's resignation as the Sinn Féin MLA for East Londonderry, and took office on 7 January 2010. In November 2010 it was announced that Leonard would not contest the 2011 Assembly election, so that he could devote his time to writing a book, ''Towards a United Ireland – an uncompleted journey''. Leonard stated that disagreements "over support arrangements for MLAs' wages and expenses" were the reason for his decision to leave Sinn Féin in 2011. A 2012 interview published in the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'' quoted Leonard as saying that the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

(IRA) still have a big say in the running of Sinn Féin. "The tentacles of the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

still run throughout it", he said and stated that former republican prisoners still dominate the structures of the party."IRA still have a big say in Sinn Fein says ex MLA and RUC man"
belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 21 June 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Billy 1955 births Irish republicans Living people Members of Coleraine Borough Council Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 People from Lurgan Protestant Irish nationalists Royal Ulster Constabulary officers Sinn Féin MLAs Social Democratic and Labour Party councillors Sinn Féin councillors in Northern Ireland Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates Police officers from County Armagh