Sir William George Turner (1872 – 14 June 1937) was an American-born unionist

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 ...

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 ...

, who served as Lord Mayor of Belfast for over five years.

Life

Born in United States,1911 Census of Ireland http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Woodvale/Shankill_Road/179707/ Turner became a

fruiterer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

on the

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast a ...

. He first stood for election to

Belfast Corporation 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 ...

in the Cliftonville ward in 1909. Although he was officially an

independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in electi ...

, he had the backing of the local

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 ...

. However, he was defeated by the footballer William Kennedy Gibson.Neal Garnham, ''Association football and society in pre-partition Ireland'', p.157 Turner was later successful as an

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a 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 Irish Home Rule movem ...

candidate for the city council. He served as

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. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the Un ...

from 1923 to 1928; his mayoralty also made him an ex-officio member of the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

. He was knighted in 1924, while in 1927 he was appointed to the

Privy Council of Northern Ireland The Privy Council of Northern Ireland is a formal body of advisors to the sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarch's prerogative powers in Northern Ireland. It was modelled on the Privy Council of Ireland. The council was created in 1922 as ...

Arms

References

1872 births 1937 deaths Lord Mayors of Belfast High Sheriffs of Belfast Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 People from County Tyrone Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Knights Bachelor {{Parliament-of-Northern-Ireland-member-stub