Norman Laird
Encyclopedia
Norman Laird was a doctor and 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...

.

Laird studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
Royal Belfast Academical Institution
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, is a Grammar School in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Locally referred to as Inst, the school educates boys from ages 11–18...

 and the Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...

. He became a doctor 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), and chaired its St Anne's branch from 1948 until 1969. He was awarded an OBE in 1961.

Laird was elected for the UUP in Belfast St Anne's
Belfast St Anne's (UK Parliament constituency)
St Anne's, a division of Belfast, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1922.-Boundaries and boundary changes:...

 at the Northern Ireland general election, 1969
Northern Ireland general election, 1969
-References:*...

. In March 1970, he was one of five UUP MPs expelled from the Ulster Unionist parliamentary party for refusing to support the government in a vote of no confidence. He died the following month. In the ensuing by-election, his seat was won by his son, John Laird
John Laird, Baron Laird
Professor John Dunn Laird, Baron Laird FRSA of Artigarvan is an Ulster Unionist life peer and former chairman of the cross-border Ulster-Scots Agency.-Career:...

.
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