David Cook (Northern Ireland politician)

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David Cook
James Stewart
Succeeded byBilly Bell
Deputy Leader of the APNI
In office
1980–1984
Preceded byBasil Glass
Succeeded byAddie Morrow
Personal details
Born
David Somerville Cook

(1944-01-25)25 January 1944
Leicester, England
Died19 September 2020(2020-09-19) (aged 76)
Portadown, Northern Ireland
Political partyAlliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
OccupationPolitician, solicitor

David Somerville Cook (25 January 1944 – 19 September 2020) was an English-born

Lord Mayor of Belfast
since 1898. He was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly of 1982 and served on that body until its abolishment in 1986. He was appointed Chair of the Police Authority of Northern Ireland in 1994 and held that position until his resignation from the role in 1996.

Early life

Cook was born on 25 January 1944, to Francis John Granville Cook and Jocelyn McKay (

Leicester, England. As a child, he moved to Northern Ireland with his parents and sisters after his father was appointed headmaster of Campbell College in 1954.[2]

Professional career

Cook worked as a solicitor, eventually becoming a senior partner at Sheldon and Stewart Solicitors.[3]

Political career

In 1970, Cook was a founder member of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI),[4] a non-sectarian party,[5] while he was elected to the party's Central Executive in 1971.[6]

He was elected to

William James Pirrie, a Home Rule Liberal, in 1896–1898.[9]

He stood for APNI in

Northern Ireland Assembly representing Belfast South.[10]

In the 1983 general election, 1986 by-election and 1987 general election, he consistently won over 20% of the votes cast in Belfast South. He also stood for Alliance in the 1984 European Parliament election, but took only 4% of the vote.[10] From 1980 to 1984, Cook served as the Deputy Leader of APNI.[3]

In 1994, Cook became the Chairman of the

libel case which was ultimately settled out of court.[13] He subsequently sat on the Craigavon Health and Social Services Trust.[14]

Death

On 20 September 2020, it was announced that Cook had died after being diagnosed with Covid-19 during the pandemic.[15] According to his family, he died on 19 September 2020, at Craigavon Area Hospital.[2] He had had a stroke two years before.[16] He was survived by his wife Fionnuala, his sisters Alison and Nora, his daughter Barbary, his sons John, Patrick, Julius, and Dominic, and his granddaughters Romy and Imogen.[17]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4
    . Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b Madden, Andrew (20 September 2020). "Tributes paid to founding member of Alliance Party and former Lord Mayor of Belfast David Cook following death from Covid-19". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Policing in Northern Ireland". Meath Peace Group. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Cook raps 'mean spirited unionism'". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. 11 February 1997. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. ^ Carroll, Rory (15 December 2019). "Northern Ireland's sectarian parties punished by rise of the non-aligned". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  6. ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "APNI – Alliance Annual Conference 1971". Conflict Archive on the Internet. ARK. Retrieved 3 June 2016 – via University of Ulster.
  7. ^ "The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Belfast". ARK. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Local Government Elections 1985 – 1989: Belfast". ARK. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  9. ^ "A Chronology of the Conflict-1978". Conflict Archive on the Internet. ARK. Retrieved 3 June 2016 – via University of Ulster.
  10. ^ a b c "David Cook candidacies". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  11. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Election Demon. Archived from the original on 9 June 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  12. ^ Grattan, Gary (23 February 1996). "Mayhew's dilemma in police watchdog crisis". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  13. ^ Gordon, David (12 November 2001). "Police Authority pair settle out of court". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Why Alliance critics point accusing finger". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. 12 December 1996. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ^ "David Cook: Former Belfast Lord Mayor dies with Covid-19". BBC News. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  16. ^ White, Laurence (20 September 2020). "David Cook was the voice of the middle political ground and an avid historian who became Lord Mayor". Belfast Telegraph. Media Huis. Retrieved 23 September 2020.(subscription required)
  17. ^ "David Cook obituary: A trailblazing and courageous politician". The Irish Times. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982)
New assembly
South Belfast

1982–1986 		Assembly abolished
Civic offices
Preceded by
James Stewart
Lord Mayor of Belfast

1978–79 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
1980–84 		Succeeded by
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