Gordon Dunne

{{Short description|Northern Irish politician (1959–2021)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox MLA

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Gordon Dunne

|honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|MBE}}

|image = Gordon Dunne.jpg

|imagesize =

|alt =

|caption =

|office3 = Member of North Down Borough Council

|constituency3 = Holywood

|term_start3 = 21 May 1997

|term_end3 = 22 May 2014

|predecessor3 = James White

|successor3 = Council abolished

| constituency4 = Holywood

| term_start4 = 15 May 1985

| term_end4 = 19 May 1993

| predecessor4 = District created

| successor4 = James White

| constituency5 = North Down Area D

| term_start5 = 20 May 1981

| term_end5 = 15 May 1985

| predecessor5 = Frederick White

| successor5 = District abolished

|office2 = Member of the Legislative Assembly
for North Down

|assembly2 = Northern Ireland

|majority2 =

|term_start2 = 5 May 2011

|term_end2 = 9 June 2021{{cite news|last1=McCormack|first1=Jayne|title=DUP MLA Gordon Dunne steps down due to serious illness |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57420146|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=9 June 2021}}

|predecessor2 = Alan McFarland

|successor2 = Stephen Dunne

|birth_date = {{birth date|1959|4|4|df=yes}}

|birth_place = {{nowrap|Enniskillen, County Fermanagh,}} Northern Ireland

|death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|6|20|1959|4|4|df=y}}

|death_place =

|nationality = British

|party = Democratic Unionist

}}

Gordon Dunne {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (4 April 1959 – 20 June 2021) was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2011 until June 2021.[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/election-2011/northern-ireland-assembly-elections-north-down-results-15152702.html NI Assembly elections], BelfastTelegraph.co.uk; accessed 3 March 2017.

Biography

Born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh,{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/dups-gordon-dunne-i-found-it-hard-to-work-with-sinn-fein-yet-we-were-able-to-do-that-36856094.html|title=DUP's Gordon Dunne: 'I found it hard to work with Sinn Fein, yet we were able to do that'|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph|date=30 April 2018|access-date=22 June 2021}} Dunne was first elected to North Down Borough Council in the 1981 local elections representing the Holywood area.[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgnorthdown.htm North Down results 1973-1981], Ark.ac.uk; accessed 11 May 2011 He was re-elected in 1985 and 1989.[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/85-89lgnorthdown.htm North Down results 1985-1989], Ark.ac.uk; accessed 3 March 2017. He lost his seat in the 1993 local elections but regained it in 1997 and sat on the council since then.[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/lgnorthdown.htm North Down results 1993-2011], Ark.ac.uk; accessed 3 March 2017. He resigned from the assembly effective 9 June 2021 for health reasons, and his son Stephen was subsequently co-opted to the role.{{cite news|title=DUP MLA Gordon Dunne's son to take over his seat at Stormont Assembly|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-mla-gordon-dunnes-son-to-take-over-his-seat-at-stormont-assembly-40547861.html|website=Belfast Telegraph|access-date=22 June 2021|date=16 June 2021|last=Preston|first=Allan}}

On 20 June 2021, eleven days after his resignation, Dunne died of cancer, aged 62.{{cite news|last1=Preston|first1=Allan|title=Tributes paid as veteran DUP MLA Gordon Dunne dies|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/tributes-paid-as-veteran-dup-mla-gordon-dunne-dies-40560487.html|work=The Belfast Telegraph|date=20 June 2021}}{{cite web|last1=Corr|first1=Shauna|title=DUP's Gordon Dunne dies 11 days after resigning as MLA because of illness|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/dups-gordon-dunne-dies-11-20862326|website=Belfast Live|date=20 June 2021}}{{cite web|title=DUP Leader pays tribute to Gordon Dunne|url=https://mydup.com/news/dup-leader-pays-tribute-to-gordon-dunne|website=Democratic Unionist Party|date=20 June 2021|access-date=20 June 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629022745/https://mydup.com/news/dup-leader-pays-tribute-to-gordon-dunne|url-status=dead}}

References

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