David Brewster LL.B., (1964 – 20 January 2021) was an

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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, community activist and historian from

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census ...

, County Londonderry. Brewster came to prominence in the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a 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 Irish Home Rule movem ...

(UUP) as a close associate of

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was ...

. Unenthusiastic about

Jim Molyneaux James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC (27 August 1920 – 9 March 2015) was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995, and as the Member of Parliament ...

's leadership of the party, Brewster backed Trimble's successful candidacy in the September 1995 leadership election. Brewster was already the Secretary of the East Londonderry Association of the party, and Trimble assisted him in winning election as one of the party's honorary secretaries in 1996.Dean Godson, ''Himself Alone: David Trimble and the Ordeal of Unionism'', p.184 Brewster claimed that Trimble also offered to help him take over as the Member of Parliament for

East Londonderry East Londonderry or East Derry can refer to: * The eastern part of County Londonderry * The eastern part of the city of Derry * East Londonderry (Assembly constituency) * East Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency) East Londonderry is a par ...

from William Ross, a leading figure in the UUP but a critic of Trimble. However, Brewster did not want the role, and instead won a seat in the equivalent constituency on the

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

. He worked with Peter King and Dean Godson on the UUP's "Strand I" team at the talks which led to the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

. Brewster was also active in the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

and, like most UUP members who were prominent Orangemen, he became critical of Trimble's leadership, and opposed the Good Friday Agreement. He joined the oppositionist Union First Group, and left the party in 2003 to join the rival

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

. Outside politics, Brewster worked as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and had his own practice in his hometown of Limavady and served as president of the Roe Valley Chamber of Commerce from 2013-2016. He was also vice chairman of Limavady United Football Club and President of the William F. Massey Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, David 1964 births 2021 deaths Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Ulster Unionist Party politicians