Dorothy Dunlop (1929 – 16 October 2021) was a former Ulster Unionist and Conservative

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 ...

. She was born in Dublin in 1929, but her family moved to Belfast when she was just four, after her father, Gilbert Waterhouse, accepted the position of Professor of German at Queen's University. She later completed a BA in English at Queen's, where she met and later married her husband, Samuel Dunlop. Dunlop worked in the Arts Council in London and for

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...

. After her marriage, she worked as a teacher in various schools and for the

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. She was first elected as an

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) member of Belfast City Council in a by-election in 1975 for 'Area B' (the forerunner to the 'Victoria' electoral area). She was re-elected in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and served as Deputy Lord Mayor in 1978–79. She lost her council seat to the

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 ...

(DUP) in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In 1982 she was elected to the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

, one of only three women to win a seat. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

she regained her seat on Belfast City Council, representing the 'Pottinger' area and became chairwoman of East Belfast Unionist Association. On the moderate wing of the UUP, she was critical of the party's electoral pact with the DUP and with Unionist demonstrations at Belfast's Saint Anne's Cathedral against the Anglo-Irish Agreement. She left the UUP, but retained a sufficient personal vote to hold her council seat in 1989 as an

independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in electi ...

and to retain her deposit with over 2000 votes in East Belfast in the 1992 Westminster election. Shortly afterwards, she joined the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, becoming Area Chairwoman 1995–97. Her political career came to an end when she lost her council seat in the 1993 Local Government elections, her last electoral contest being the 1996 Forum election where she failed to win a seat in Belfast East. She had four children and seven grandchildren. She died on 16 October 2021, aged 92.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, Dorothy 1929 births 2021 deaths Members of Belfast City Council Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party councillors Conservative Party (UK) politicians Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 20th-century women politicians from Northern Ireland Women councillors in Northern Ireland