Nelson McCausland

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Nelson McCausland, MLA
Nelson McCausland (cropped).jpg
Minister for Social Development
In office
16 May 2011 – 23 September 2014
Preceded by Alex Attwood
Succeeded by Mervyn Storey
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Northern Ireland
Assumed office
2003
Preceded by Fraser Agnew
Personal details
Born (1951-08-15) 15 August 1951 (age 72)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality British
Political party Democratic Unionist Party
Alma mater Queen's University Belfast
Worcester College, Oxford
Profession Teacher
Religion Independent Methodist
Website DUP website
Nelson McCausland (right), Orange Parade, Belfast, 12 July 2011

Nelson McCausland, MLA (born 15 August 1951) is a unionist politician from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the Democratic Unionist Party and served as Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2009-2011) and Minister for Social Development (2011-2014) in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Education

He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was educated at Carr's Glen Primary School, Belfast Royal Academy, Worcester College, Oxford and Queen's University.

Career

He was a science teacher in Ballygomartin Boys Secondary School (later Cairnmartin Secondary School) from 1973 to 1982 and then became the Northern Ireland Secretary of the Lord's Day Observance Society.

McCausland made his political debut in the 1982 Assembly elections, standing in North Belfast for the United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP), when he was eliminated early on in the count. The UUUP fared badly in that election and afterwards it disbanded.

He ran as an Independent Unionist in a Belfast City Council by-election for Belfast Area H in February 1984,[1] but polled only 9% of the vote. He stood again the following year for the Oldpark area in the local government elections,[2] but managed only 5% of the vote. He finally succeeded in gaining election for the Castle area in 1989, taking the seat of Alfie Redpath, the by-election victor of five years before.[2] Around this time McCausland briefly served as a member of the Ulster Independence Committee.[3]

He was re-elected in 1993 as an Independent Unionist but announced the week after the election that he would join the Ulster Unionist Party and became the High Sheriff of Belfast in 1997.[4] He was a candidate for the UUP in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum elections, but was placed third on the UUP list, effectively giving him no chance of election. He attempted to dislodge Cecil Walker as North Belfast MP during the 1990s.[5] Disenchanted with the UUP under David Trimble, whom he had supported for the leadership, he defected to the Democratic Unionist Party in 2001 and was re-elected as a local councillor for the Oldpark area in 2001 and 2005. McCausland represented the Council on the Ulster Museum and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and he was for some years a member of the Community Relations Council.[6] He stepped down as a councillor in November 2010.[4]

He has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2003. He has been suspended twice from the Assembly for unparliamentary language[7] in respect of allegations of Provisional IRA membership made against Gerry Adams.

In June 2009, he was appointed Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, and it was in his capacity as Minister that in May 2010, after lobbying by the Caleb Foundation pressure group, he wrote to the Ulster Museum requesting that it display a range of Creationist and other anti-Evolution material, claiming that it was the Museum's job to "reflect the views of all the people in Northern Ireland" rather than to reflect the understanding of modern science. In response to McCausland's letter, the prominent evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, said "If the museum was to go down that road then perhaps they should bring in the stork theory of where babies come from. Or perhaps the museum should introduce the flat earth theory".[8]

In 2011, he was appointed as Minister for Social Development.[9]

Regarding coverage of a loyalist band filmed playing tunes outside a Catholic church, McCausland said, "If someone was intending to be provocative or inflammatory which is the suggestion that is being made, it wasn't really very provocative...It was just an empty building. There was no-one there to be provoked."[10]

Affiliations

He was chairman of The Ulster-Scots Heritage Council (USHC) when it was formed in 1995 and was then the director of the USHC from 1997 until his election to the Assembly in 2003. At that time he was succeeded by his party and Council colleague William Humphrey.

McCausland served as DUP spokesman and Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure.[11]

He is a member of Cross of Saint Patrick LOL 688 and Royal Black Knights of Patrick RBP 146. McCausland served as the Northern Ireland Secretary of the Lord's Day Observance Society from 1983–93.[12] He has been described as a "Protestant fundamentalist".[13] Further, McCausland is of the belief that the people of the British Isles are descended from the lost tribes of Israel,[14] and has addressed events organised by the British-Israel-World Federation.[15][16]

Works

References

  1. The Belfast Telegraph, 27 February 1984 article
  2. 2.0 2.1 Local Government Elections 1985–1989 – Belfast
  3. Sean McPhilemy, The Committee – Political Assassination in Northern Ireland, Boulder CO: Roberts Rhinehart, 1998, p. 245
  4. 4.0 4.1 McCausland steps down as city councillor UTV, 1 November 2010
  5. The Telegraph, op cit
  6. Strategem website
  7. BBC News, "New suspension for Adams comments", 9 February 2009
  8. Northern Ireland minister calls on Ulster Museum to promote creationism, Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. DUP's Edwin Poots to be health minister
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. McCausland holds Gaeltacht talks BBC News, 9 July 2009
  12. Culture Minister Nelson McCausland on gays and the GAA Belfast Telegraph, 1 September 2009
  13. Obituary for Sir Cecil Walker, Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. British-Israel-World Federation website, "Morecambe Rally", April 2012
  16. BIWF website, "89th Annual Congress", September 2008

External links

Political offices
Preceded by High Sheriff of Belfast
1997–1998
Succeeded by
Jim Clarke
Preceded by Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure
2009–2011
Succeeded by
Carál Ní Chuilín
Preceded by Minister for Social Development
2011–2014
Succeeded by
Mervyn Storey
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by MLA for Belfast North
2003 -
Succeeded by
Incumbent