Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the short-lived

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

during the first half of 1974. Faulkner was also the leader of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

(UUP) from 1971 to 1974.

Early life

Faulkner was born in

Helen's Bay Helen's Bay is a village on the northern coast of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballygrot (), between Holywood, County Down, Holywood, Crawfordsburn and Bangor, County Down, Bangor. It is served by a Helen's Bay rai ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, two months before the creation of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The elder of two sons of James and Nora Faulkner. His younger brother was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Sir Dennis Faulkner, CBE VRD UD DL. James Faulkner owned the Belfast Collar Company which traded under the name Faulat. At that time, Faulat was the largest single-purpose shirt manufacturer in the world, employing some 3,000 people. Brian Faulkner was educated initially at Elm Park preparatory school, Killylea,

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, but at 14 was sent to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

-affiliated St Columba's College at

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

in Dublin, although Faulkner was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

. Faulkner chose St Columba's, preferring to stay in Ireland rather than go to school in England. His best friend at the school was

Michael Yeats Michael Butler Yeats (22 August 1921 – 3 January 2007) was an Irish barrister and Fianna Fáil politician. He served two periods as a member of Seanad Éireann. Biography Early life His was the son of W. B. Yeats, a poet and Nobel Prize in L ...

, son of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

. He was the only prime minister of Northern Ireland to have been educated in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

and one of only two to have been educated in

. Faulkner entered the

Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1939 to study law but, with the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he quit his studies to work full-time in the family shirt-making business.

Early political career

Faulkner became involved in unionist politics, the first of his family to do so, and was elected to 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 ...

as the

Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of East Down in 1949. His vociferous traditional unionist approach to politics ensured him a prominent backbench position. He was, at the time, the youngest ever MP in the Northern Irish Parliament. He was also the first Chairman of the Ulster Young Unionist Council in 1949. In 1956 Faulkner was offered and accepted the job of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, or Government Chief Whip.

Ministerial office

In 1959, he became Minister of Home Affairs and his handling of security for most of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

's Border Campaign of 1956–62 bolstered his reputation in the eyes of the right wing of Ulster unionism. When

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, Privy Council of Northern Ireland, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). ...

became prime minister in 1963 he appointed Faulkner, his chief rival for the job, as Minister of Commerce. Faulkner resigned in 1969 over the technicalities of how and when to bring in the local government reforms which the British Labour government was pushing for. This was a factor in the resignation of Terence O'Neill, who resigned as prime minister in the aftermath of his failure to achieve a good enough result in the

1969 Northern Ireland general election The 1969 Northern Ireland general election was held on Monday 24 February 1969. It was the last election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland before its abolition by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. This was the first (and only) el ...

. In the ensuing leadership contest, Faulkner lost out again when O'Neill gave his casting vote to his cousin,

James Chichester-Clark James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola (12 February 1923 – 17 May 2002) was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern I ...

. In 1970, Faulkner became the

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

. Faulkner came back into government as Minister of Development under Chichester-Clark and in a sharp turn-around, began the implementation of the political reforms that were the main cause of his resignation from O'Neill's cabinet. Chichester-Clark himself resigned in 1971; the political and security situation and the more intensive British interest proving difficult.

Prime minister

Promising beginnings

In March 1971 Faulkner was elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and thus became prime minister. In his initial innovative approach to government, he gave a non-unionist,

David Bleakley David Wylie Bleakley CBE (11 January 1925 26 June 2017) was a Northern Irish politician and peace campaigner. Biography Background Born in the Strandtown district of Belfast, Bleakley worked as an electrician in the Harland and Wolff docky ...

, a former

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. Previously, in 1885 ...

MP, a position in his cabinet as

Minister for Community Relations The Minister for Community Relations was a member of the Cabinet in the Parliament of Northern Ireland which governed Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1972. The post was created in 1969 and lasted until 1972. It was vacant for a month in 1971, afte ...

. In June 1971, he proposed three new powerful committees at Stormont which would give the opposition salaried chairmanships of two of them.

Initial troubles

However, this initiative (radical at the time) was soon overtaken by events. The shooting of two Catholic youths in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

by British soldiers prompted the

SDLP 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 (MPs ...

, the largest Nationalist party and main opposition to boycott the Stormont parliament. The political climate deteriorated further when, in response to the worsening security situation, and in a move without precedent in the United Kingdom in modern times, Faulkner introduced internment on 9 August 1971. This was a disaster; instead of lessening the violence, it caused the situation to worsen. David Bleakley resigned in September 1971 over internment and Faulkner appointed Dr G. B. Newe, a prominent Catholic, as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office. Faulkner's administration staggered on through the rest of 1971, insisting that security was the paramount issue. In January 1972, an incident occurred during a

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA; ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

shot and killed thirteen unarmed civilians. A fourteenth civilian was to die later. What history has come to know as Bloody Sunday was, in essence, the end of Faulkner's government. In March 1972, Faulkner refused to maintain a government without security powers which the British government under

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

decided to take back. The Stormont parliament was subsequently prorogued (initially for a period of one year) and following the appointment of a

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

William Whitelaw William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as '' de fac ...

direct rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...

was introduced.

Chief Executive

In June 1973, elections were held to a new devolved parliament, the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. The elections split the UUP. Faulkner became chief executive in a power-sharing executive with the SDLP and the centre-ground Alliance Party, a political alliance cemented at the Sunningdale Conference that year. However, the prominence in the

Sunningdale Agreement The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The agreement was signed by the British and Irish government in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1 ...

of the cross-border

Council of Ireland The Council of Ireland was a statutory body established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 as an all-Ireland law-making authority with limited jurisdiction, initially over both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, and later solely over ...

suggested that Faulkner had strayed too far ahead of his party. A section of the party had previously broken away to form the

Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig (Northern Ireland politician), ...

, which contested the elections in opposition to the UUP. The power-sharing Executive which he led lasted only six months and was brought down by a

loyalist 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 Cr ...

Ulster Workers Council Strike The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had b ...

in May 1974. Loyalist paramilitary organisations were prominent in intimidating utility workers and blockading roads. The strike had the tacit support of many unionists. In 1974, Faulkner lost the leadership of the UUP to anti-Sunningdale elements led by

Harry West Henry William West (27 March 1917 – 5 February 2004) was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1974 until 1979. Career to Stormont West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at ...

. He subsequently resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party and formed the

Unionist Party of Northern Ireland The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974. Formation The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper ''Nor ...

. The UPNI fared badly in the Convention elections of 1975, winning only five out of the 78 seats contested. Whereas Faulkner had topped the poll in South Down in 1973 with over 16,000 votes, he polled just 6,035 votes in 1975 and finished seventh, winning the final seat. In 1976 Faulkner announced that he was quitting active politics. He was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in the New Year's Honours list of 1977, being created Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, of

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...

in the County of Down on 7 February 1977.

Personal life

Faulkner married

Lucy Forsythe Lucy Barbara Ethel Faulkner, Baroness Faulkner of Downpatrick, CBE (née Forsythe; 1 July 1925 – 20 January 2012) was a Northern Irish journalist, unionist and peace advocate. Faulkner was the wife of the sixth and last Prime Minister of North ...

, a graduate of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, in 1951. They met through their common interests in politics and hunting. She was equally suited to a political partnership having had a career in journalism with 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 ...

'' and was secretary to the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Sir Basil Brooke, when they met. Together they had three children: a daughter and two sons. They took up residence at Highlands, not far from the village of Seaforde. One of his sons, Michael, has written a memoir, ''The Blue Cabin'' (2006), about his move to the family's former holiday house on the island of Islandmore on

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough () is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering . The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linke ...

. Michael Faulkner died on 1 June 2024 at the age of 71. Brian Faulkner was a member of the

Apprentice Boys of Derry The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Ireland (now part of Northern Ireland). In 2021 it had over 10,000 members worldwide, with membership open to Protestant men only. T ...

but was expelled from the group in 1971. Faulkner considered himself to be both Irish and British, writing "the Northern Ireland citizen is Irish and British; it is a question of complement, not of conflict" and reacted to the

Republic of Ireland Act The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) is an Act of the Oireachtas which declares that the description of Ireland is the Republic of Ireland, and vests in the president of Ireland the power to exercise the executive authority of the ...

by remarking "They have no right to the title Ireland, a name of which we are just as proud as they".

Death

Lord Faulkner, a keen huntsman, died on 3 March 1977 at the age of 56 following a riding accident whilst

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

with the County Down Staghounds at the Ballyagherty/Station Road junction near

Saintfield Saintfield () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road (Northern Ireland), A7 road. It had a population of 3,588 in the 2021 Unite ...

. Faulkner had been riding at full gallop along a narrow country road when his horse slipped. Faulkner was thrown off and killed instantly. He was laid to rest at Magherahamlet Presbyterian Church near Spa in County Down where he had been a regular member of the congregation. Lord Faulkner had retired from active politics and was pursuing his interests in industry at the time of his death. He had recently become a European consultant for the

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...

, a company which he proved instrumental in attracting to Northern Ireland during his tenure as Minister of Commerce. His twenty-four-day life peerage was thus the shortest-lived until the death of Lord Heywood of Whitehall in 2018 just nine days after ennoblement, although there have been hereditary peerages, such as that of

Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classi ...

, which have been shorter still.