James Augustine Duff was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born Northern Irish

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...

 businessman and 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...

 politician.

Born in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, he was educated locally before moving to 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...

. He sat on Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

, served as the city's Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and in 1923 was the High Sheriff of Belfast

High Sheriff of Belfast

The High Sheriff of Belfast is a High Sheriff title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. It is a largely ceremonial position currently held by Ian Adamson, who took office in January 2011...

. He represented Belfast East

Belfast East (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Belfast East was a borough constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 - 1929. It returned four MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.- Boundaries :...

 in the Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

 from 1921 to 1925. Defeated at the 1925 election

Northern Ireland general election, 1925

The Northern Ireland general election, 1925 was held on 3 April 1925. It was the second election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, although they maintained their large majority. This was the last election for the Stormont parliament...

 he contested the new Belfast Pottinger

Belfast Pottinger (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Belfast Pottinger was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Pottinger was a borough constituency comprising part of eastern Belfast...

 seat at the 1929 election

Northern Ireland general election, 1929

-References:*...

 but was not elected as the seat was taken by Jack Beattie

Jack Beattie

Jack Beattie was a politician from Northern Ireland.He was a teacher by profession. He joined the Northern Ireland Labour Party . In 1925, he became a Member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons for Belfast East. He represented Belfast Pottinger from 1929...

.

Away from politics Duff was President of the St. Andrews Society from 1925 to 1926 as well as President of the Belfast Scottish Association.