Joseph Francis Stewart (1889 – 6 May 1964) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

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 ...

. After growing up in

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

, where he studied at the Christian Brothers' School, Stewart worked as a wine merchant and became active in the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

. At the January 1910 general election he worked as the

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...

for

Thomas Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

. In 1923 Stewart was elected to the Dungannon

Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

, a post he held until the Board was dissolved in 1948.Brendan Lynn, ''Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945 – 72'' (1997), He was also elected to Tyrone County Council for the Nationalist Party, was a long-time member of Dungannon

Urban District Council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...

, and was the President of the Tyrone

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New ...

. At the 1929 general election Stewart was elected to Stormont for the seat of East Tyrone, which he held until his death in 1964. Following the death of

Joseph Devlin Joseph Devlin (13 February 1871 – 18 January 1934) was an Irish people, Irish journalist and influential Irish Nationalism, nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Irish Parli ...

, Stewart was elected to

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

at the 1934 Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election, but he stood down at the following year's general election. In 1958 Stewart became the Chairman of the Nationalist Party at Stormont, a position he retained until his death.

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