Herbert Whitten was a Unionist 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 Portadown

Portadown

Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

, Whitten became the managing director of T. A. Shillington, a builders' merchants. He was elected to Portadown District Council as an Ulster Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

 member in 1968, and at the Northern Ireland general election, 1969

Northern Ireland general election, 1969

-References:*...

, he was elected for Central Armagh

Central Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Central Armagh was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Central Armagh was a county constituency comprising the north central part of County Armagh. It was created when the House of Commons Act 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland...

.

In 1973, following the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland, Whitten was elected to Craigavon Borough Council

Craigavon Borough Council

Craigavon Borough Council is a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. The headquarters of the council is in Craigavon, on the shores of Lough Neagh, a new town built between Lurgan and Portadown. The council area includes the large towns of Lurgan and Portadown, as...

, and he also took a seat in Armagh

Armagh (Assembly constituency)

Armagh was a constituency used for the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention and the 1982 Assembly...

 on the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)

The Northern Ireland Assembly was a legislative assembly set up by the Government of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1973 to restore devolved government to Northern Ireland with the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive made up of unionists and nationalists....

. He held this seat on the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....

. In 1978-9, he served as Mayor of Craigavon.