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Sam Foster (politician)

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Sam Foster, CBE
Minister of the Environment
In office
29 November 1999 – 20 February 2002
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byDermot Nesbitt
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Fermanagh & South Tyrone
In office
25 June 1998 – 26 November 2003
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byTom Elliott
Member of
Fermanagh District Council
In office
15 May 1985 – 7 June 2001
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byRobert Irvine
ConstituencyEnniskillen
In office
20 May 1981 – 15 May 1985
Preceded byThomas Scott
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyFermanagh Area E
Northern Ireland Forum Member
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
In office
30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998
Preceded byNew forum
Succeeded byForum dissolved
Personal details
Born
Samuel Foster

(1931-12-07)7 December 1931
Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Died19 August 2014(2014-08-19) (aged 82)
Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Political partyUlster Unionist Party
SpouseDorothy Foster
Children3
Alma materUlster Polytechnic
ProfessionSocial Worker, police officer

Major Samuel Foster CBE[1] (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

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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.[2]

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.[3] However, Foster was forced to resign in 2002 with the advancement of Parkinson's disease. He was succeeded by Dermot Nesbitt.[4]

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]

Family

[edit]

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.[5] Foster died on 19 August 2014, aged 82.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ BBC News report, 2002 Honours list, bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.
  2. ^ BBC NI – Learning – A State Apart, bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.
  3. ^ BBC Online, bbc.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Environment job for Nesbitt". 19 February 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. ^ BBC News online
  6. ^ Notice of death of Sam Foster, BBC.co.uk; accessed 13 March 2017.
Northern Ireland Forum
New forum Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
1996–1998
Forum dissolved
Northern Ireland Assembly
New assembly MLA for Fermanagh & South Tyrone
1998–2003
Succeeded by
Political offices
New office Minister of the Environment
1999–2000
Vacant
Office suspended
Title next held by
self
Vacant
Office suspended
Title last held by
self
Minister of the Environment
2000–2002
Succeeded by