Reg Empey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Empey
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Official portrait, 2024
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| First Minister of Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Acting
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| In office 1 July 2001 – 6 November 2001 Serving with Seamus Mallon
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| Appointed by | David Trimble | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Trimble | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | David Trimble | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey
26 October 1947 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Ulster Unionist Party (Before 1973; 1984–2011; 2011-) |
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| Other political affiliations |
Ulster Vanguard (1973–1975) United Ulster Unionist Party (1975–1984) Conservatives (2011) |
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| Spouse | Stella Empey (died 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profession | Businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, also known as Reg Empey, is a politician from Northern Ireland. He was born on October 26, 1947. He served as the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001. He was also the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010. Later, he was the chairman of the party from 2012 to 2019.
Reg Empey was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011. Since 2011, he has been a life peer in the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament.
Contents
Early Life and Business Career
Reg Empey was born in West Belfast on October 26, 1947. His family worked in retail, running shops. His uncle, Joseph Morgan, was also a politician.
Reg went to Hillcrest Preparatory School and The Royal School, Armagh. He then studied economics at Queen's University Belfast. After university, he built his own business career in retail. One of his shops in Belfast was damaged and looted during a difficult time.
Starting in Politics
Reg Empey first got involved in politics in the late 1960s. He joined the Ulster Young Unionist Council. Later, he left this group and became an early member of the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party. He was the chairman of this party in 1975. In the same year, he was elected to the Constitutional Convention, a group that discussed Northern Ireland's future.
When the Vanguard party split, Empey joined a new group called the United Ulster Unionist Party. He was the deputy leader of this party from 1977 until it ended in 1984.
Political Journey
Joining the Ulster Unionist Party
After the United Ulster Unionist Party dissolved, Empey rejoined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). He was elected to the Belfast City Council. He served as the Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, from 1989 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1994.
In 1994, he was given an award, the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for his work in local government.
Reg Empey became a well-known politician in East Belfast. He was an important negotiator for the Good Friday Agreement, a peace agreement for Northern Ireland.
He became a key supporter of David Trimble, who became the leader of the UUP in 1995. In 1996, Empey was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for East Belfast. He was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003.
Serving in the Government
When the Northern Ireland Executive (the government of Northern Ireland) was formed in 1999, Reg Empey became the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. He held this job for the entire time the Executive was in place.
In June 2001, David Trimble temporarily stepped down as First Minister of Northern Ireland. He chose Empey to take over the role for a short time. Empey served as acting First Minister until November of that year.
From 2007 to 2010, he was the Minister for Employment and Learning. In this role, he asked the government to help people who lost money in a collapsed financial company, but this request was not accepted.
In October 2011, he was pleased to hear that the government of Libya agreed to pay money to victims of bombings by the IRA. He said that the weapons sent to Ireland by Colonel Gaddafi for the IRA were like an "act of war" against the United Kingdom.
Leading the Ulster Unionist Party
In 2005, David Trimble resigned as UUP leader after the party did not do well in the general election. Reg Empey ran to become the new leader. On June 24, 2005, he was elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
On May 15, 2010, Empey announced that he would step down as leader later that year. He officially resigned in September 2010.
Member of the House of Lords
On November 19, 2010, it was announced that Reg Empey would become a life peer. This means he would become a member of the House of Lords for life. He joined the House of Lords as a member of the Conservative Party. On January 15, 2011, he officially became Baron Empey. He took his seat in the House of Lords with support from Lord Trimble and Lord Rogan.
In 2017, Empey voted to start the process for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, known as Brexit. He has since said that Brexit has been a "disaster" for unionism.
In October 2024, Empey asked the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Gavin Robinson, to apologize. This was because it was revealed that the DUP had secret meetings with Sinn Féin in the mid-2000s, even though the DUP had a policy of not talking to Sinn Féin at that time.
Acting First Minister of Northern Ireland (2001)
On June 30, 2001, David Trimble temporarily resigned as First Minister of Northern Ireland. He appointed Reg Empey to take over the duties of the office. This was because there were disagreements between the political parties about whether the IRA would get rid of its weapons. Trimble resigned to protest that the IRA had not kept its promise to put its weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use." Empey was a strong supporter of Trimble.
During Empey's time as acting First Minister, the main problem was the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s refusal to get rid of its weapons. This was a promise all parties had made in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
On August 7, 2001, the IRA agreed on a way to destroy its weapons. Tony Blair, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, called this a "significant" and "historic" step. The head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, General John de Chastelain, said the IRA's plans would put their weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use." The Ulster Unionists had said they would leave the Northern Ireland Assembly if the IRA did not start disarming.
Empey and the other two UUP ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive resigned from their jobs on October 18, 2001. This was to put pressure on the parties to solve the problem within seven days. They were reappointed on October 24, 2001.
On November 2, 2001, Empey suggested a motion to re-elect David Trimble as First Minister. However, this motion was defeated because two members of Trimble's own party voted against him. So, Empey continued as acting First Minister until Trimble was finally elected on November 6. This happened after three members of the Alliance Party temporarily changed their political group to 'Unionist' to help the vote pass.
Personal Life
Reg Empey and his wife, Stella Empey, had two children. Stella Empey was also recognized for her community work in Northern Ireland and received an MBE award in 2007. She passed away in 2023.
Reg Empey is a member of the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal organization.
Electoral History
Reg Empey first ran for election in 1975 for the Constitutional Convention. He was elected for Belfast East. He also ran in local government elections and was elected to Belfast City Council in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997.
He ran in every election for the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He was elected to the Assembly in 1998, 2003, and 2007. In the 2005 UK general election, he ran against Peter Robinson for the East Belfast seat but was not elected.
In the 2010 general election, Empey ran for the South Antrim seat but was defeated by William McCrea.
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