Faulkner, Brian

Brian Faulkner (1921–1977), Ulster unionist and prime minister of Northern Ireland, was born in Helen's Bay, County Down on 18 February and educated at Saint Columba's College, Dublin. Faulkner managed the family's shirt factory during the Second World War rather than joining the British armed forces, which was often criticized in later unionist internal disputes. In 1949 he became Stormont MP for East Down. Faulkner was appointed chief whip in 1956 and minister for home affairs in 1959; he acquired a hardline reputation by supporting provocative Orange marches and was seen as a possible successor to Lord Brookeborough. From 1963 Faulkner was an outstandingly able minister for commerce under Prime Minister Terence O'Neill; he intrigued with hardliners while avoiding open confrontation. In January 1969 Faulkner resigned from the cabinet over the appointment of the Cameron Commission on civil disturbances. On O'Neill's resignation in April 1969, Faulkner contested the leadership, losing to James Chichester-Clark by one vote; instead, he became minister for development. In March 1971, Faulkner became leader of the Unionist Party and prime minister of Northern Ireland after Chichester-Clark's resignation. He attempted to combine concessions to nationalists with a harsh security policy; these approaches undermined each other, and violence continued to escalate. Faulkner persuaded the British government to introduce internment in August 1971, believing that it would end the Irish Republican Army's campaign; instead, it further alienated nationalist opinion and intensified violence. In March 1972 Faulkner and his cabinet resigned after the British government withdrew the Northern Ireland government's authority over security policy; the Stormont parliament was suspended, and Westminster resumed direct control over Northern Ireland. In May 1973, Faulkner led the Unionist Party into assembly elections intended to provide a mandate for negotiations. Negotiations between Northern Ireland politicians and the British government in October and November 1973 led to the Sunningdale Agreement, which created a power-sharing executive drawn from the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and the Alliance Party. This was unacceptable to most unionists, but Faulkner retained the support of most of his Assembly members; he resigned as party leader in January 1974. In February anti-agreement unionists won eleven of twelve seats and an absolute majority of Northern Ireland votes in the Westminster general election. The executive collapsed on 27 May after a loyalist strike paralyzed the province. Faulkner subsequently led a dwindling splinter group, the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. In 1976 he retired from politics, accepting a life peerage as Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick. He died in a riding accident on 3 March 1977.

Faulkner, Brian

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