27/05/2014

Former UUP Leader Sir John Gorman Dies Aged 91

Former Ulster Unionist leader and WWII veteran Sir John Gorman has died aged 91.

A Catholic from County Tyrone, Sir John Gorman represented North Down in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998.

He served in the Irish Guards in World War II and was awarded the British military cross and the French Croix de Guerre. Following the war, he joined the RUC in Northern Ireland.

He was a captain in the Irish Guards from 1944-1946 and a district inspector of the RUC until 1969.

Sir John was knighted in the Queen's Birthday honours list in 1998.

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Mike Nesbitt said: "It is rather poignant that on the very day we complete a European Election count to return Northern Ireland's MEPs to Brussels, we should learn of the death of a man who liberated that city 70 years ago.

"Sir John achieved success in a number of fields. He was a war hero who was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Normandy. He was a great public servant who spent 17 years in the RUC and was Chair of the Housing Executive. More recently he was an Ulster Unionist MLA representing North Down, was deputy speaker of the Stormont Assembly and a leading catholic unionist.

"The last time I was with him was at a branch meeting of the Party in Killyleagh last year. He was barely mobile and said he was there simply to support me. I was humbled by that gesture and in his death I am inspired to deliver better politics as a tribute to his memory."

(IT)

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