John Brooke, 2nd Viscount Brookeborough

John Warden Brooke, 2nd Viscount Brookeborough, PC (NI) (November 9 1922 – March 5 1987) was a Northern Ireland politician, the son of Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, the 1st Viscount Brookeborough, who succeeded his father as the Ulster Unionist Stormont MP for Lisnaskea in a by-election on March 22 1968. He retained that seat until the proroguing of the Northern Ireland Parliament in 1972.

Early life

He was educated at Eton College. During the second world war he served in the British Army in North Africa, Italy and Germany. He was on the personal staff of Field Marshal the Viscount Alexander of Tunis. He was an Aide-de-Camp to Field-Marshal Earl Wavell, Viceroy of India 1947.

In 1934, his father claimed in the Northern Ireland House of Commons that there had been a plot to kidnap Brooke by Nationalists during Sir Basil's time as Commandant of the Ulster Special Constabulary, a report which led him to dismiss every Catholic worker in his employ, for which he was accused of sectarianism. [ Northern Ireland House of Commons Official Report, Vol 34 Col 1116-1117]

Political career

He was elected to Fermanagh County Council in 1947, until 1973, and was Chairman of the council from 1961 to 1973.

He was a member of a dissident group of Ulster Unionist backbench MPs who campaigned for the removal of Terence O'Neill as Prime Minister. When O'Neill finally resigned in April 1969 his successor, James Chichester-Clark, brought some of this dissident group into his government. Brooke was made Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce (1969-1970). Under Brian Faulkner's premiership, he was government Chief Whip (1971-1972).

In the Northern Ireland Assembly (1973-74) he represented North Down. When the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was founded by pro Sunningdale Agreement members of the Ulster Unionists Brooke joined in 1974 and was again elected for North Down to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975-76). He also represented the views of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI) in the House of Lords.

At 5.13pm delivered the final speech from the dispatch box at Stormont prior to its suspension by Edward Heath's Conservative government on 28 March 1972. In it he quoted from a poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled "Ulster", written in 1914, about the time his father's involvement in the political affairs of the province might be said to have begun. It ended:

"Before an empire's eyes the traitor claims his price.
What need of further lies? We are the sacrifice."

He married Rosemary Chichester, daughter of Lt.-Col. "Arthur O'Neill Cubitt Chichester MC", of Galgorm Castle, (d. 30 January, 2007) in 1949 and they had five children, Alan, Christopher, Juliana, Melinda and Susanna.

ee also

* List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords

References