James Augustine Duff (27 September 1872 – 4 March 1943) was a Scottish-born

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

businessman and

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 ...

politician. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, he was educated locally before moving 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 ...

. He sat on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

, served as the city's

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and was the

High Sheriff of Belfast The High Sheriff of Belfast is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. Like other high sheriff positions, it is largely a ceremonial post today. The ...

in 1923.Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
/ref> He represented Belfast East in the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

from 1921 to 1925. Defeated at the 1925 election he contested the new Belfast Pottinger seat at the 1929 election but was not elected as the seat was taken by

Jack Beattie Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

. Away from politics, Duff was President of the St. Andrews Society from 1925 to 1926 as well as President of the Belfast Scottish Association.

References

External links

* 1872 births 1943 deaths Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland High Sheriffs of Belfast Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Politicians from Glasgow Businesspeople from Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies {{Parliament-of-Northern-Ireland-member-stub