Jim Wilson (born 15 December 1941) is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was

Deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly The speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly () (originally having the title of Presiding Officer) is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Northern Ireland Assembly, elected on a cross-community vote by the Member of the Legislative ...

from 2002 to 2007. A member 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), he was a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for South Antrim from

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Background

Born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, Wilson attended

Belfast College of Technology Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as Belfast Met, is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and an an ...

before becoming a marine engineer. He was elected to

Newtownabbey Borough Council Newtownabbey Borough Council was a Local Authority in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Council merged with Antrim Borough Council in April 2015 under local governmen ...

in 1977 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 ...

, and joined the

the following year. However, he resigned his position on the council in 1988. He was UUP General Secretary from the late 1980s until 1998. Wilson was elected to 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 ...

for South Antrim in 1998 and held his seat at the 2003 election. He retired from front line politics in 2007. In March 2007 he was reappointed General Secretary of the UUP.

References

External links

Northern Ireland Assembly - Biography - Jim Wilson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jim 1941 births Living people Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003 Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Members of Newtownabbey Borough Council Politicians from County Antrim Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party politicians