Joe Stewart (politician)

{{short description|Northern Ireland politician (1889–1964)}}

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Joseph Francis Stewart (1889 – 6 May 1964) was an Irish nationalist politician.

After growing up in Dungannon, where he studied at the Christian Brothers' School, Stewart worked as a wine merchant and became active in the Irish Parliamentary Party. At the January 1910 general election he worked as the election agent for Thomas Kettle.{{Cite web |url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/biographies.html |title=Northern Ireland Parliament Elections Results: Biographies |access-date=13 March 2007 |archive-date=26 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226144802/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/biographies.html |url-status=live }}

In 1923 Stewart was elected to the Dungannon Board of Governors, a post he held until the Board was dissolved in 1948.{{cite book|first=Brendan |last=Lynn |title=Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945–72 |date=1997|isbn=1-85521-980-8}} He was also elected to Tyrone County Council for the Nationalist Party, was a long-time member of Dungannon Urban District Council, and was the President of the Tyrone Ancient Order of Hibernians.

At the 1929 general election Stewart was elected to Stormont for the seat of East Tyrone, which he held until his death in 1964.

Following the death of Joseph Devlin, Stewart was elected to Westminster at the 1934 Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election, but he stood down at the following year's general election.

In 1958 Stewart became the Chairman of the Nationalist Party at Stormont, a position he retained until his death.