Cedric Wilson is a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Born in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Wilson became the director of a private nursing home

Nursing home

A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...

. In 1981

Northern Ireland local elections, 1981

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981.-Overall:-Belfast:...

, he was elected to Castlereagh Borough Council for the Democratic Unionist Party

Democratic Unionist Party

The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

, a post he held until 1989

Northern Ireland local elections, 1989

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989.-Background:The elections took place after a turbulent period in Northern Irish politics. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in November 1985 had been followed by widespread protests by those in the Unionist community...

. During this time, he became known for his role in campaigning against the Anglo-Irish Agreement

Anglo-Irish Agreement

The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...

.

At the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1982, Wilson stood unsuccessfully in Belfast South

Belfast South (Assembly constituency)

Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

.

In 1996, he joined the UK Unionist Party

UK Unionist Party

The UK Unionist Party was a small unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1995 to 2008. It was nominally formed by Robert McCartney, formerly of the Ulster Unionist Party, to contest a by-election the North Down by-election, 1995 and then further constituted to contest the 1996...

 (UKUP), and was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum

Northern Ireland Forum

The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

 under the top-up system in 1996. When the Forum was replaced by the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

, Wilson won a seat in Strangford

Strangford (UK Parliament constituency)

Strangford is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from parts of North Down...

 outright, initially placing third out of twenty-two candidates.

In 1999, Wilson and three of the four other UKUP Assembly members left the party to form the Northern Ireland Unionist Party

Northern Ireland Unionist Party

The Northern Ireland Unionist Party was a small political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed in January 1999 as a splinter party from the UK Unionist Party . This split was caused by disagreement between the five UKUP members of the Northern Ireland Assembly...

 (NIUP). They argued that they should not quit their Assembly seats should Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 take up its seats in the without prior Provisional Irish Republican Army

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 decommissioning of weapons. Wilson became the party leader, and in the 2001 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2001

The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

, he contested the Strangford

Strangford (UK Parliament constituency)

Strangford is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from parts of North Down...

 seat, but came bottom of the poll, with only 1.9% of the vote.

This poor showing was reflected in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003

The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...

, when Wilson initially placed only tenth out of thirteen candidates, and all the NIUP members lost their seats.

Wilson remained leader of the NIUP, but the party is currently inactive. Wilson stood as an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 candidate in the Strangford

Strangford (Assembly constituency)

Strangford is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...

 constituency at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...

where he polled 305 votes (0.8%), thus finishing last out of the fifteen candidates.