Joseph Gerard Hendron (born 12 November 1932) is a

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 ...

politician, a member of the centre-left Irish nationalist

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 ...

(SDLP). Hendron, also a local GP physician for 40 years, was first elected as a political representative of Belfast West in 1975 to 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 ...

. He was later elected to

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 ...

in 1981 and in 1982 to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Hendron was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Belfast West between April 1992 and May 1997 in the UK Parliament in London. He had taken the seat from

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

President

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...

at his third attempt with a majority of 1%. He became the only nationalist MP to defeat Adams. The seat had previously been held for the SDLP by

Gerry Fitt Gerard Fitt, Baron Fitt (9 April 1926 – 26 August 2005) was a politician in Northern Ireland. He was a founder and the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a social democratic and Irish nationalist party. Early year ...

(later Lord Fitt) until 1983. Hendron attracted unprecedented cross-community support from Nationalists and Unionists in the constituency. This was the only example where an

SDLP 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 Irelan ...

candidate received a high number of Unionist votes in Belfast West that un-seated a

candidate. Adams regained the seat at the next election in May 1997. In 1996, Hendron was elected to 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 ...

and in 1998 to the newly reconvened

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 ...

. However, he lost his seat in the

2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 26 November 2003, after being suspended for just over a year. It was the second election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. Each of Northern Irela ...

to a member of

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

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 ...

. He was appointed a member of the Northern Ireland

Parades Commission The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the S ...

in 2005. He retired from this role in December 2010.New Parades Commission for Northern Ireland appointed
BBC News, 20 December 2010, accessed 12 February 2012

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Bibliography

Maiden Speech : House of Commons – 18 June 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendron, Joe 1932 births Living people Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003 UK MPs 1992–1997 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) Members of Belfast City Council Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs (UK)