Billy Bell (politician)

For other uses, see Billy Bell (disambiguation).

Billy Bell OBE, JP
File:Billy Bell.jpg
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Lagan Valley
In office 25 June 1998 – 7 March 2007
Preceded by	New Creation
Succeeded by	Basil McCrea
Personal details
Born	(1935-10-09) 9 October 1935 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Website	www.billy-bell.co.uk

William Bradshaw "Billy" Bell, OBE, JP (born 9 October 1935), is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and former Lord Mayor of Belfast.

He served as a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 1976 to 1985 and was Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1979 to 1980. He also served on Lisburn Council (1989–2007) and was Mayor of the City of Lisburn in 2003, the only person to be mayor of two different Cities in the United Kingdom.

He was Personal Assistant to MP Rt Hon Sir James Molyneaux from 1976 to 1997. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976) for North Belfast, and to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Lagan Valley constituency in 1998 and again in 2003. Bell stood in the 2007 election after re-selection by his party, however he lost his seat to fellow UUP candidate, Basil McCrea.

He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1985, and is a former member of the Northern Ireland Housing Council.

Trivia

He is a cousin of the physicist John Stewart Bell.

External links

• NI Assembly biography
• Stratagem website biography

Political offices
Preceded by David Cook	Lord Mayor of Belfast 1979 - 80	Succeeded by John Carson
Preceded by Betty Campbell	Mayor of Lisburn 2002-2003	Succeeded by Cecil Calvert
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by New creation	MLA for Lagan Valley 1998 - 2007	Succeeded by Basil McCrea