Wallace Hamilton Browne, Baron Browne of Belmont (born 29 October 1947), 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, who has been a
Member of the House of Lords
This is a list of members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Current sitting members
Lords Spiritual
26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops of Canterbury and ...
since 2006, and was a
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
About
The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...
(MLA) for
East Belfast from 2007 to 2011.
Political career
Browne, a long-serving member of the DUP Central Executive; was a member of
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 ...
for the
Victoria electoral area from
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
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** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
until 2010.
During his time on Belfast City Council, Browne was High Sheriff of the City in 2002 and
Lord Mayor of Belfast
The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...
in 2005–06.
In 2007, Browne was elected in the
Assembly elections for the
East Belfast seat. He remained a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly until 2011. During his time in the Assembly, he represented his party on various committees, including the Justice Committee, Culture and Arts Committee and the Audit Committee. Browne also served as Chairman of the Assembly Procedures Committee.
Since 2006, he has served in the House of Lords. He was one of the first three members of the DUP to be introduced to the second chamber as a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
, giving the party its first-ever representation in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. The other two being
Maurice Morrow
Maurice George Morrow, Baron Morrow (born 27 September 1948) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who has been Chairman of the DUP since 2000. He was made a life peer in June 2006. He ...
, the chairman of the DUP, and
Eileen Paisley
Eileen Emily Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's, Lady Bannside (''née'' Cassells; born 2 November 1931), is a Northern Irish Unionist politician, a vice-president of the Democratic Unionist Party, and the widow of Ian Paisley, Lord Bann ...
, the wife of the late Leader of the DUP,
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 ...
; all became "working" life peers. Browne was raised to the
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks.
Peerages include:
Australia
* Australian peers
Belgium
* Belgi ...
as Baron Browne of Belmont, of Belmont in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
on 12 June 2006.
Browne has been an active working peer during his time in the House of Lords, regularly contributing to debates on a range of issues including: Restoration of the Devolved Institutions in Northern Ireland, Armed Forces Veterans, Military Brexit, Historical Abuse and Gambling. In 2017, Browne secured the first focused debate in the House of Lords on the issue of online gambling.
Personal life
Before he was elected as a Member of the NI Assembly in 2007, Browne was previously a grammar school teacher. Browne was also a long-serving trustee of the Somme Association. Browne, a former pupil of
Campbell College, Belfast is a graduate of
Queen's University, Belfast
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graduating in 1970 with a Degree in Zoology
See also
*
List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords
This is a list of Members of the United Kingdom House of Lords who were born, live or lived in Northern Ireland.
This list does not include hereditary peers whose only parliamentary service was in the House of Lords prior to the passage of the ...
References
External links
Four new unionist peers appointed ''BBC News'', 11 April 2006
Former Lord Mayor's Portrait UnveiledBelfast City Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne Of Belmont, Wallace Browne, Baron
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Democratic Unionist Party MLAs
Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
High Sheriffs of Belfast
Democratic Unionist Party life peers
Lord Mayors of Belfast
Members of Belfast City Council
Place of birth missing (living people)
Life peers created by Elizabeth II