Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough
Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, KG, CBE, MC, TD, PC (Ire) (9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet, between 1907 and 1952, and commonly referred to as Lord Brookeborough, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from May 1943, until March 1963.
The Right Honourable The Viscount Brookeborough KG CBE MC TD PC (Ire) | |
|---|---|
Brooke in 1941 | |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland | |
| In office 1 May 1943 – 26 March 1963 | |
| Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Governor |
|
| Preceded by | J. M. Andrews |
| Succeeded by | Terence O'Neill |
| 6th Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh | |
| In office 26 April 1963 – February 1969 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Earl of Enniskillen |
| Succeeded by | Vacant (1969–71) Thomas Scott (1971–76) |
| 6th Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | |
| In office 1 May 1946 – 25 March 1963 | |
| Preceded by | J. M. Andrews |
| Succeeded by | Terence O'Neill |
| Minister of Commerce | |
| In office 16 January 1941 – 16 February 1945 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | John Milne Barbour |
| Succeeded by | Roland Nugent |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 1 December 1933 – 16 January 1941 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Sir Edward Archdale |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Glentoran |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 5 July 1952 – 18 August 1973 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Viscount Brookeborough |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Lisnaskea | |
| In office 22 May 1929 – 22 March 1968 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | John Brooke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 June 1888 Colebrooke Park, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Ireland |
| Died | 18 August 1973 (aged 85) Colebrooke Park, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Winchester College |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1908–1920 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
|
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards |
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Lord Brookeborough had previously held several ministerial positions in the Government of Northern Ireland, and has been described as "perhaps the last Unionist leader to command respect, loyalty and affection across the social and political spectrum".
Equally well, he has also been described as one of the most hard-line anti-Catholic leaders of the UUP, and his legacy involves founding his own paramilitary group, which fed in to the reactivation of the Ulster Volunteers (UVF).