Sam Foster (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sam Foster, CBE

| image =

| office = Minister of the Environment

| term_start = 29 November 1999

| term_end = 20 February 2002

| predecessor = New office

| successor = Dermot Nesbitt

|office1 = Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Fermanagh & South Tyrone

| assembly1 = Northern Ireland

| term_start1 = 25 June 1998

| term_end1 = 26 November 2003

| predecessor1 = Constituency created

| successor1 = Tom Elliott

| office2 = Member of
Fermanagh District Council

| constituency2 = Enniskillen

| term_start2 = 15 May 1985

| term_end2 = 7 June 2001

| predecessor2 = New district

| successor2 = Robert Irvine

| constituency3 = Fermanagh Area E

| term_start3 = 20 May 1981

| term_end3 = 15 May 1985

| predecessor3 = Thomas Scott

| successor3 = District abolished

| office4 = Northern Ireland Forum Member
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone

| term_start4 = 30 May 1996

| term_end4 = 25 April 1998

| predecessor4 = New forum

| successor4 = Forum dissolved

| birthname = Samuel Foster

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1931|12|7}}

| birth_place = Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|8|19|1931|12|7}}

| death_place = Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

| party = Ulster Unionist Party

| alma_mater = Ulster Polytechnic

| profession = Social Worker, police officer

| spouse = Dorothy Foster

| children = 3

}}

Major Samuel Foster {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}}[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2045970.stm BBC News report, 2002 Honours list], bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017. (7 December 1931 – 19 August 2014) was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who served in the Northern Ireland Executive from 1998 to 2002, and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1998 to 2003.

Background

Foster was educated at Enniskillen Technical College and the Ulster Polytechnic, and was by profession a Social Worker. He was a Special Constable in the Ulster Special Constabulary for 21 years and was an Officer with the rank of Major in the Ulster Defence Regiment until his election to Fermanagh District Council in 1981. He retired from the Council in 2001 having been Chairman in 1995–97. He was highly commended for his efforts to rescue victims of the 1987 Remembrance Day bombing, of which he was nearly a victim himself.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/governance/support/gov1_n081.shtml BBC NI – Learning – A State Apart], bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.

He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 for Fermanagh & South Tyrone and was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998. In 1999 he was appointed Environment Minister by the David Trimble, reportedly as a reward not only to Foster for his long service, but to Fermanagh UUP for their support of Trimble.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/governance/support/gov1_n081.shtml BBC Online], bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017. However, Foster was forced to resign in 2002 with the advancement of Parkinson's disease. He was succeeded by Dermot Nesbitt.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1828682.stm|title=Environment job for Nesbitt|date=2002-02-19|access-date=2019-08-16}}

Having been a member of the Northern Ireland Police Authority from 1982 to 1985, he was appointed to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in 1999 on which he remained until it was reconstituted in 2006. He stood down from the Assembly at the 2003 elections.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

Family

He was married with three children and was a lifelong member of the Orange Order in Fermanagh. A nephew of Foster's is married to former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Leader & First Minister, Arlene Foster.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6632769.stm BBC News online] Foster died on 19 August 2014, aged 82.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-28852442 Notice of death of Sam Foster], BBC.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.