Roy Bradford

Roy Hamilton Bradford (7 July 1921 – 2 September 1998) was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland and a government minister in both the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly.

Roy Bradford
Minister of Development
In office 25 March 1971 – 30 March 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Brian Faulkner
Preceded by	Brian Faulkner
Succeeded by	Abolished
Minister of Commerce
In office 24 January 1969 – 23 March 1971
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Terence O'Neill 1963–69 James Chichester-Clark 1969-1971
Preceded by	Brian Faulkner
Succeeded by	Robin Bailie
Member of Parliament for Belfast Victoria
In office 25 November 1965 – 30 March 1972
Preceded by	David Bleakley
Succeeded by	Parliament abolished
Majority	423 (3.2%)
Personal details
Born	Roy Hamilton Bradford 7 July 1921 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died	2 September 1998 (aged 77) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin
Occupation	Politician

Born in Ligoniel in Belfast, Bradford studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Trinity College Dublin, where he was elected a Scholar. He then worked in British Army intelligence before moving to London, where he worked for the BBC and ITV. In 1960 he published a novel, Excelsior.[1]

At the 1965 Northern Ireland general election, Bradford was elected for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Belfast Victoria, defeating David Bleakley MP of the Northern Ireland Labour Party. In 1966 he was appointed as an Assistant Whip, then in 1968 as Chief Whip. From 1969 to 1971 he was the Minister of Commerce, becoming Minister of Development from 1971 to 1972.[1]

At the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Bradford was elected in Belfast East. He sided in favour of the Sunningdale Agreement and remained loyal to Brian Faulkner, and was Minister in charge of the Department of the Environment until June 1974. He stood unsuccessfully in North Down at the February 1974 general election. He followed Brian Faulkner into the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland after the collapse of the power-sharing executive, but in June 1974 he returned to the UUP. He was not elected to the 1975 Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention.[1]

Bradford completed a second novel, Last Ditch, in 1982. In 1989 he was elected to North Down Borough Council, where he joined his wife Hazel in the UUP group. He worked as a journalist, writing an influential weekly column in the Belfast News Letter and also served as a councillor and Mayor of North Down.[1] In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in North Down.[2]

His papers were deposited in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Roy and Hazel Bradford's son, Conor, is a presenter of Good Morning Ulster for BBC Northern Ireland.[3]

References

1. "Bradford, Roy", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2. Northern Ireland elections
3. New day for Good Morning Ulster's Conor Bradford, The News Letter, 27 August 2009

Parliament of Northern Ireland
Preceded by David Bleakley	Member of Parliament for Belfast Victoria 1965–1973	Parliament abolished
Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)
New assembly	Assembly Member for East Belfast 1973–1974	Assembly abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by Isaac George Hawthorne	Unionist Assistant Whip 1966–1967 With: Samuel Magowan	Succeeded by Samuel Magowan
Vacant Title last held by James Chichester-Clark	Unionist Chief Whip 1968–1969	Succeeded by John Dobson
Political offices
Preceded by Isaac George Hawthorne	Assistant Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Finance 1966–1967 With: Samuel Magowan	Succeeded by Samuel Magowan
Political offices
Preceded by Vacant	Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education 1967–1968	Succeeded by Office abolished
Vacant Title last held by James Chichester-Clark	Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Finance 1968–1969	Office abolished
Preceded by Brian Faulkner	Minister of Commerce and Production 1969–1971	Succeeded by Robin Bailie
Civic offices
Preceded by Brian Wilson	Mayor of North Down 1994–95	Succeeded by Susan O'Brien