- John Gorman (politician)
Sir John Reginald Gorman, CVO, CBE, MC, DL, (b.
February 1 1923 ,Omagh ,Northern Ireland ) was between 1998 and 2003 anUlster Unionist Party MLA forNorth Down , and one of the few Roman Catholics to be elected as a Unionist representative inNorthern Ireland .Born in
Omagh ,County Tyrone in 1923 and educated atRockport School , Loretta Convent, Omagh andPortora Royal School , [ [http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs/jgorman.htm NI Assembly Biography] ] Gorman joined theIrish Guards in 1944, rising to the rank ofCaptain . After winning theMilitary Cross in theSecond World War he left the army and served as a District Inspector of the RUC from 1946 to 1963.After an assorted career, during which he was for a time Chief Executive of the
Northern Ireland Housing Executive , he was elected to theNorthern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 as a "top-up candidate" from the party list. He served as Chairman of the Forum from 1996 to 1998.In 1998 he was elected to the
Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down and served as a Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. He resigned as Deputy Speaker in February 2002 [ [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ni/?id=2002-02-19.5.0&s=speaker%3A10605 Assembly debate on resignation as Deputy Speaker] ] .He was knighted in the Birthday Honours of 1998 and is a Deputy
Lord Lieutenant (DL) ofCounty Down .External links
* [http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs/jgorman.htm Northern Ireland Assembly biography]
* [http://www.ulster-scots.co.uk/docs/articles/cultural/bombfactory.htm Extract from autobiography]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2262572.stm BBC News - Gorman set to retire from Assembly] 17 September 2002References
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