Charles Curtis Craig (18 February 1869 – 28 January 1960) was an

Irish Unionist Unionism is a political tradition on the island of Ireland that favours political union with Great Britain and professes loyalty to the British Crown and constitution. As the overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Protestant minority, following ...

and later

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the I ...

politician. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for constituencies in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

from 1903 to 1929, taking his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The son of James Craig, of Craigavon, Belfast, a self-made millionaire whisky distiller, among his brothers was Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister, James Craig.

1903 South Antrim by-election

Craig first stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at a by-election in 1903 for the South Antrim constituency, after the sitting Unionist MP

William Ellison-Macartney Sir William Grey Ellison-Macartney, (7 June 1852 – 4 December 1924) was an Irish-born British politician, who also served as the Governor of the Australian states of Tasmania and Western Australia. Early life Born as William Grey Ellison ...

had left the Commons to take up the post of Deputy-Master of the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

. He defeated a Russellite opponent to win the seat. Craig held the seat through four subsequent general elections.

Antrim constituency

The South Antrim constituency was abolished for the 1922 general election and Craig was then elected as one of the two MPs for the re-established Antrim constituency, and held that seat until he retired from Parliament at the 1929 general election. Craig was sworn as a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

on 5 December 1922, one of two new members admitted on the last day before the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

came into effect, on 6 December 1922. Although it was never formally abolished, the Irish Privy Council effectively ceased to exist with the creation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

, and on 12 December, ten members were sworn of a new

Privy Council of Northern Ireland The Privy Council of Northern Ireland is a formal body of advisors to the sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarch's prerogative powers in Northern Ireland. It was modelled on the Privy Council of Ireland. The council was created in 1922 as ...

. Craig was not one of those first appointments, but was appointed on 27 Sep 1923 as the thirteenth member of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland. In the 1922–1924 Conservative Government, led by

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a ...

and then

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

, Curtis was appointed in February 1923 as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions was a junior Ministerial office at Parliamentary Secretary rank in the British Government, supporting the Minister for Pensions. Establishment and history The office was established in 1916 ...

, and held that post until first Labour government took office in January 1924.

Personal life

Craig married Lilian Bowring Wimble, daughter of the John Wimble, of Long Ditton, Surrey in 1897.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Charles 1869 births 1960 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (since 1922) Irish Unionist Party MPs Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland