Robert Lloyd Hall-Thompson TD

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

 (9 April 1920 - 20 May 1992), known as Lloyd Hall-Thompson, 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 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...

, Hall-Thompson was the son of Samuel Hall-Thompson

Samuel Hall-Thompson

Lt-Col. Samuel Hall-Thompson was a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland.Hall-Thompson was born in Crawfordsburn and studied at Dulwich College. His father, Rt. Hon. Robert Thompson, DL, was also an MP...

, and grandson of Rt. Hon. Robert Thompson MP

Robert Thompson (politician)

Robert Thompson PC , JP, DL was a Member of Parliament from Northern Ireland. Educated at Wellington Academy, Belfast, he later entered the family firm of Lindsay, Thompson & Co. Ltd., flax spinners...

. He studied at Campbell College

Campbell College

Campbell College is a Voluntary Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The College educates boys from ages 11–18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council.The school occupies...

 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...

 and joined the 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...

 (UUP) in 1938. He was commissioned into the 8th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 in 1939 and served during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, reaching the rank of Captain

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

. For ten years from 1946, he served in the Territorial Army, reaching the rank of Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

.

Hall-Thompson was elected to 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...

 at the 1969 election

Northern Ireland general election, 1969

-References:*...

, representing Belfast Clifton

Belfast Clifton (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

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

. He won as an independent Unionist

Independent Unionist

See also Independent .Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state....

, supporting Prime Minister of Northern Ireland

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...

 Terence O'Neill

Terence O'Neill

Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...

. In September 1970, he rejoined the UUP.

Following the abolition of the Parliament, Hall-Thompson was elected to 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....

 for Belfast North

Belfast North (Assembly constituency)

Belfast North 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...

, representing the UUP. The following year, he became the leader of the Assembly and also the Executive's Chief Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

, before joining the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland

Unionist Party of Northern Ireland

The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974.-Formation:The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals, the Northern...

. Under this new label, he was elected to 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....

 of 1975.

Outside politics, Hall-Thompson was involved in horse breeding

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

.

Late in life, Hall-Thompson joined the Conservative Party

Conservatives in Northern Ireland

The Conservatives Northern Ireland is the section of the Conservative and Unionist Party of the United Kingdom that operates in Northern Ireland...

, and in 1988 he became the Chair of the Lagan Valley

Lagan Valley

Lagan Valley is an area of Northern Ireland between Belfast and Lisburn. The Lagan is a famous river that flows into Belfast Lough. For a section, the river forms part of the border between the counties of Antrim and Down....

Conservative Association.