William Wright (Northern Ireland politician)

William Thompson Wright (born 1925) is a Northern Irish business owner and former Unionist politician.

Wright grew up in Ballymena, and first came to prominence in the late 1950s, when he joined his father's company, a vehicle body building business.[1][2]

In the 1970s, Wright joined the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and was elected as its Chairman.[3] He stood for the party in North Antrim at the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention election in 1975, and was elected.[4] He later followed the party leaders in joining the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and was elected to Ballymena Borough Council for this new party at the Northern Ireland local elections, 1981,[5] He lost his seat at the 1985 election, and did not stand in 1989,[6] but was re-elected in 1993 and won again in 1997.[7] He also stood for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, but was not elected.[8] In 1998, he resigned from the UUP, and stood unsuccessfully in the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election as an independent Unionist.[9] He held his council seat in 2001, before finally standing down in 2005.[7]

Outside politics, Wright took over the family business, moving it into the construction of buses, a process which saw it become the Wright Group, with Wrightbus as its best-known subsidiary.[1] In the 2011 Birthday Honours, he was awarded the CBE.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Company History", The Wright Group
  2. ↑ Margaret Canning, "Wrightbus boss drives off with Belfast Telegraph's top business award", Belfast Telegraph, 28 March 2014
  3. ↑ Ted Nealon, Northern Ireland: A Parliamentary Directory, p.227
  4. ↑ "North Antrim 1973-1982", Northern Ireland Elections
  5. ↑ "The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Ballymena", Northern Ireland Elections
  6. ↑ "Local Government Elections 1985 - 1989: Ballymena", Northern Ireland Elections
  7. 1 2 "Ballymena Borough Council Elections 1993-2011", Northern Ireland Elections
  8. ↑ "1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in North Antrim", Northern Ireland Elections
  9. ↑ "North Antrim", Northern Ireland Elections
  10. ↑ United Kingdom: The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. pp. 1–28. 10 June 2011.
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