Joseph Francis Stewart (1889 – 6 May 1964) was an Irish

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

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 ...

. After growing up in

Dungannon Dungannon (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...

, where he studied at the Christian Brothers' School, Stewart worked as a wine merchant and became active in the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...

. At the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

he worked as the

election agent An election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent by those running the election. The term is most used in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some ...

for

Thomas Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

. In 1923 Stewart was elected to the Dungannon

Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

, a post he held until the Board was dissolved in 1948. He was also elected to

Tyrone County Council Tyrone County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, from 1899 to 1973. History Tyrone County Council was established on 1 April 1899 under orders issued in accordance with the Local Govern ...

for the Nationalist Party, was a long-time member of Dungannon

Urban District Council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

, and was the President of the Tyrone

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New Yo ...

. At the 1929 general election Stewart was elected to Stormont for the seat of East Tyrone, which he held until his death in 1964. Following the death of

Joseph Devlin Joseph Devlin (13 February 1871 – 18 January 1934) was an Irish journalist and influential nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Irish Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (1902-192 ...

, Stewart was elected to

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

at the

1934 Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election The 1934 Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election was held on 27 June 1934. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Nationalist (NI) MP, Joseph Devlin. It was won by the Nationalist (NI) candidate Joseph Francis Stewart Joseph Fr ...

, but he stood down at the following year's general election. In 1958 Stewart became the Chairman of the Nationalist Party at Stormont, a position he retained until his death.

References