Simpson Gibson

Simpson Gibson
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Strangford
In office
2 August 2010 – 24 March 2011
Preceded byJim Shannon
Succeeded byMike Nesbitt
Mayor of Ards
In office
1987–1988
Member of
Ards Borough Council
In office
15 May 1985 – 21 May 1997
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byGeorge Ennis
ConstituencyNewtownards
In office
20 May 1981 – 15 May 1985
Preceded byWilliam Boal
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyArds Area B
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for North Down
In office
20 October 1982 – 1986
Preceded byAssembly re-established
Succeeded byAssembly abolished
Personal details
Born (1946-08-10) 10 August 1946 (age 78)
Saintfield, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Political partyDemocratic Unionist Party

Hugh John Simpson Gibson MBE (born 10 August 1946) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2010 to 2011.

Background

Gibson studied at Saintfield Secondary School and Shaftesbury House Tutorial College, before working as a farmer and becoming a member of the Orange Order.[1] He joined the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and was elected to Ards Borough Council in 1981.[2] He held his seat until he stood down in 1997,[3] serving as Mayor of Ards in 1987-88.

At the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Gibson was elected in North Down.[4] He contested Strangford at the 1983 general election, taking second place, with 30% of the votes cast.[5] In the mid-1990s, he served as Vice-Chairman of the DUP.[6] In August 2010, Gibson was appointed to the Northern Ireland Assembly as the replacement for Jim Shannon.[7] He did not stand in the 2011 Assembly election in which the DUP held three of its four seats, losing Gibson's to the Ulster Unionist Party.[citation needed]

Gibson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for political service to the DUP and services to the community in Northern Ireland.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ The Times Guide to the House of Commons, June 1983
  2. ^ The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Ards, Northern Ireland Elections
  3. ^ Ards Borough Council Elections, 1993-2005, Northern Ireland Elections
  4. ^ North Down 1973-1982, Northern Ireland Elections
  5. ^ Strangford, Northern Ireland Elections
  6. ^ Dod's Parliamentary Companion (1996), p. 778
  7. ^ Membership of the Northern Ireland Assembly Archived 17 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Assembly
  8. ^ "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N19.
  9. ^ 2015 New Year Honours List
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982)
New assembly MPA for North Down
1982–1986 		Assembly abolished
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by MLA for Strangford
2010–2011 		Succeeded by