Ernest Baird (1930 – September 2003) was a
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 ...
in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Baird was born in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
in 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 ...
but moved with his family to
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
at an early age.
A
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
and political
unionist, Baird became the deputy leader of the
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...
. He was elected at the
1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...
for
Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and won a seat in the same constituency on the
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland.
For ...
.
When
William Craig, the leader of Vanguard, proposed forming a
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
, Baird led the majority of Vanguard in leaving to form the
United Ulster Unionist Movement.
Baird became the leader of the new grouping, which initially pursued a policy of uniting all unionist groups to form a new party. When this proved impossible, it instead constituted itself as the
United Ulster Unionist Party
The United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.
It emerged from a division in the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party in the late 1970s. Vanguard had traditional ...
(UUUP), again with Baird as the leader. He then became a key member of the
United Unionist Action Council
Baird stood for the UUUP in
Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the
1979 general election, but won only 17% of the vote, taking fourth position in the poll. At the
1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he fared even less well, taking only 2,022 first preference votes.
Sometime after this poor performance, the UUUP was dissolved. Baird then confined his politics to 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 ...
, while building up his "Baird's Chemists" chain that became one of Northern Ireland's leading chemists chain, before being bought over in 2011.
References
Bibliography
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1973-1982Veteran unionist Baird dies after long illness, ''
Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Ernest
1930 births
2003 deaths
Leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974
Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
United Ulster Unionist Party politicians
Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party politicians