Samuel Hall-Thompson

Lt-Col. Samuel Hall-Thompson (1885 - 26 October 1954) was a Northern Irish Unionist politician.

Hall-Thompson was born in Crawfordsburn and studied at Dulwich College. He went in to business and, in 1929, served as High Sheriff of Belfast. [http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/biographies.html Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons] ]

At the Northern Ireland general election, 1929, Hall-Thompson was elected as the Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast Clifton. In 1939, he was appointed Chief Ordnance Officer for Northern Ireland, and from 1944 until 1950 he served as Minister of Education. This position carried with it membership of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland. Hall-Thompson suffered criticism from some Unionists for appearing to compromise with the Roman Catholic Church while in this position. [http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/belfast.html Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Boroughs: Belfast] ] Unusually for a Minister, he was not a member of the Orange Order. [Graham Walker, "A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism and Pessimism"]

In 1950, Hall-Thompson was appointed Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons. At the 1953 general election, he was defeated by Norman Porter, an independent Unionist who had been a critic of Hall-Thompson.

Hall-Thompson's son, Lloyd Hall-Thompson, later became an MP in Northern Ireland.

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