Robert Overend (December 1930 – 25 June 2017) was a Northern Irish farmer, businessman and Unionist politician. He was also a deputy Grand Master of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

Political career

Overend was a prominent member of the

Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...

in the mid-1970s. In 1975, he proposed that the Order formed a new, united unionist party, but this was rejected. He was elected for Vanguard 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 ...

from Mid Ulster,Mid Ulster 1973-82
Northern Ireland Elections, ark.ac.uk; accessed 27 June 2017. In 1976, an unsuccessful attempt was made on his life by republican paramilitaries, including Paul McGlinchey, brother of

Dominic McGlinchey Dominic "Mad Dog" McGlinchey (1954 – 10 February 1994) was an Irish republican paramilitary leader, who moved from the Provisional IRA to become head of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) paramilitary group in the early 1980s. McGlinch ...

. Overend joined the

United Ulster Unionist Party The United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984. It emerged from a division in the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party in the late 1970s. Vanguard had traditional ...

(UUUP) on its formation, and was elected to

Magherafelt District Council Magherafelt District Council was a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It was merged with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on 1 April 2015 under local government reorganisation in ...

for the new party at the 1977 local elections, holding his seat in 1981 local elections. Overend stood for the UUUP again at the

1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being ...

, but was not successful. In the run-up to the election, his son, Robert Andrew Overend (born 1957), was seriously injured by an

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...

(INLA) bomb. During the 1990s, he served as Deputy Grand Master of the Orange Order.

Personal life and death

Outside politics, he worked as a pig farmer and was chair of the Ulster Pork and Bacon Forum. His daughter-in-law, Sandra Overend, is an

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, 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 I ...

member of the

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 ...

. He also has another two sons and a daughter, Wesley, Nigel and Elizabeth. Overend died on 25 June 2017, aged 86, following a long illness.Former BPA chair Robert Overend dies following long illness
world.co.uk; accessed 27 June 2017.

References

1930 births 2017 deaths Date of birth missing Grand Masters of the Orange Order Businesspeople from Northern Ireland Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Members of Magherafelt District Council Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party politicians United Ulster Unionist Party politicians People from Magherafelt {{NorthernIreland-politician-stub