Gerard Benedict "G.B." Newe, CBE, M.A., D.Litt. (5 February 1907 — 25 October 1982) was a Northern Irish Roman Catholic Unionist politician and prominent Catholic layperson; he was the first Roman Catholic to be appointed a minister in the Government of Northern Ireland.

Biography

Born at

Cushendall Cushendall (), formerly known as Newtownglens, is a coastal village and townland (of 153 acres) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located in the historic barony of Glenarm Lower and the civil parish of Layd, and is part of Causeway Coas ...

, County Antrim, he was the son of gardener Patrick Newe and Catherine McCanny. He attended St. Malachy's College. A journalist, Newe edited ''The Ulster Farmer'' from 1931 to 1967.Chris Cook, ''The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources Since 1945'', Routledge, 2012, , p. 147 He helped to establish the Northern Ireland Council of Social Service and was Secretary of the group from 1948 to 1972. He was also a founder of the cross-community Protestant and Catholic Encounter Group. He was awarded an honorary MA by

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in 1967.

Political career

Newe served as Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Government from 1971 to 1972. Although not a member of the parliament, he was appointed by Brian Faulkner as part of an attempt to liberalise the government of Northern Ireland. Newe was the only Catholic to serve as a minister in the original Stormont government. He was appointed to Her Majesty's

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 ...

on 27 October 1971 at Government House, Hillsborough. Long before his appointment, Dr. Newe had made known his view that the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland needed to fully engage with the Northern Ireland Government. In 1958 he condemned the futility of depending on the Republic of Ireland’s legal claim to the territory of Northern Ireland and encouraged Catholics to co-operate with the Northern government, it being in his own words, “''the authority that controls life and welfare.''"Bardon, Jonathan, ''A History of Ulster'', 1992, p 410

Awards

* Named as

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

References

External links

Belfast Gazette excerpt

Belfast Gazette excerpt

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newe, G.B. 1907 births 1982 deaths Catholic Unionists Northern Ireland junior government ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Roman Catholics from Northern Ireland Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Northern Ireland