The Right Honourable The Lord Trimble PC |
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Member of the House of Lords | |
Assumed office 2 June 2006 |
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First Minister of Northern Ireland | |
In office 6 November 2001 – 14 October 2002 Serving with Mark Durkan |
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Preceded by | Reg Empey (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Ian Paisley |
First Minister of Northern Ireland | |
In office 1 July 1998 – 1 July 2001 Serving with Seamus Mallon |
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Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | Reg Empey (Acting) |
Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | |
In office 8 September 1995 – 24 June 2005 |
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Deputy |
John Taylor Sir Reg Empey |
Preceded by | James Molyneaux |
Succeeded by | Reg Empey |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Upper Bann |
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In office 25 June 1998 – 7 March 2007 |
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Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | George Savage |
Member of Parliament for Upper Bann |
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In office 17 May 1990 – 5 May 2005 |
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Preceded by | Harold McCusker |
Succeeded by | David Simpson |
Personal details | |
Born |
William David Trimble 15 October 1944 Bangor, Northern Ireland |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative (2007–present) |
Other political affiliations |
Ulster Unionist (Before 1973; 1978–2007) Ulster Vanguard (1973–1978) |
Spouse(s) | Heather McComb (1968–1976) Daphne Orr (1978–present) |
Children | Richard Victoria Nicholas Sarah |
Residence | Banbridge, County Down |
Alma mater | Queen's University, Belfast |
Occupation | Politician |
Profession |
Barrister Lecturer |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Website | Official Website |
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC (born 15 October 1944), is a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was also the Member of Parliament for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007. In 2006, he was made a life peer in the House of Lords and a year later left the UUP to join the Conservative Party.
Trimble began his career as a Professor of Law at The Queen's University of Belfast in the 1970s, during which time he began to get involved with the paramilitary-linked Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975, and joined the UUP in 1978 after the VPUP disbanded. Remaining at Queen's University, he continued his academic career until being elected as the MP for Upper Bann in 1990. In 1995 he was unexpectedly elected as the leader of the UUP. He was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and (along with John Hume) won the Nobel Peace Prize that year for his efforts. He was later elected to become the first First Minister of Northern Ireland, although his tenure was turbulent and frequently interrupted by disagreements over the timetable for Provisional Irish Republican Army decommissioning.