Hugh John Simpson Gibson MBE (born 10 August 1946) is a

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 ...

(DUP) politician in Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for

Strangford Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census. On the ...

from 2010 to 2011. Gibson studied at Saintfield Secondary School and Shaftesbury House Tutorial College, before working as a farmer and becoming a member 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 ...

. He joined the

(DUP) and was elected to

Ards Borough Council Ards Borough Council was the local authority of Ards in Northern Ireland. It merged with North Down Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council North i ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He held his seat until he stood down in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, serving as Mayor of Ards in 1987-88. 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 ...

, Gibson was elected in North Down. He contested

at the

1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general e ...

, taking second place, with 30% of the votes cast. In the mid-1990s, he served as Vice-Chairman of the DUP. In August 2010, Gibson was appointed to 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 ...

as the replacement for Jim Shannon. He did not stand in the 2011 Assembly election in which the DUP held three of its four seats, losing Gibson's to the Ulster Unionist Party. Gibson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for political service to the DUP and services to the community in Northern Ireland.2015 New Year Honours List
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References

External links

NIA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Simpson 1946 births Living people Democratic Unionist Party politicians Members of Ards Borough Council Mayors of places in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Members of the Order of the British Empire