Rafton John Pounder (13 May 1933 — 16 April 1991) was a

Pro-Assembly Unionist The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974. Formation The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper ''Nor ...

and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Westminster MP from

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 ...

. Born at Ballynahatty, Shaw's Bridge,

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 ...

, the son of Cuthbert C. Pounder, Rafton Pounder was educated at

Rockport School Rockport School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls from 2.5 years to 18 years in the British Public School tradition. It is situated in of woodland on the shore of Belfast Lough in Craigavad, near Holywood, County ...

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

and at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, where he was Chairman of the Conservative Association (CUCA). He was elected Westminster

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 ...

for Belfast South in a 1963 by-election, and served until February 1974 when he lost as a Pro-Assembly Unionist to the Reverend Robert Bradford of the

United Ulster Unionist Coalition The United Ulster Unionist Council (also known as the United Ulster Unionist Coalition) was a body that sought to bring together the Unionists opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement in Northern Ireland. Formation The UUUC was established in Januar ...

. Pounder was also a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

from 1973 to 1974. From 1964 to 1967, he served as Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Parliamentary Party.John F. Harbinson, ''The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882-1973'', p.182 Married to Valerie Isobel (daughter of Robert Stewart MBE), with one son, Aidan, and one daughter, Helen, he lived at

Groomsport Groomsport () is a village and townland two miles north east of Bangor in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the south shore of Belfast Lough and on the north coast of the Ards Peninsula. Groomsport has a population of 3,005 people accordin ...

, County Down, until his death at age 57. He is outlived by his granddaughters, Charlotte, Kate, Iona and Penelope.

References

Sources

* *Times Guide to the House of Commons February 1974

External links

* 1933 births 1991 deaths Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) People educated at Charterhouse School UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge People educated at Rockport School {{UK-MEP-stub