Sammy Wilson (politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sammy Wilson
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Democratic Unionist Party Chief Whip in the House of Commons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 17 December 2019 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Jeffrey Donaldson Gavin Robinson |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Donaldson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Finance and Personnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 July 2009 – 29 July 2013 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Peter Robinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Nigel Dodds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Simon Hamilton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of the Environment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 June 2008 – 1 July 2009 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Peter Robinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Arlene Foster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Edwin Poots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic Unionist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Samuel Wilson is a British politician. He has been the Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Commons since 2019. He has also been a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005.
Mr. Wilson was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He represented Belfast East from 1998 to 2003. Later, he represented East Antrim from 2003 to 2015. He also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast twice. The first time was from 1986 to 1987, and again from 2000 to 2001. He was the first person from the DUP to hold this important role. He has also been a Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive. He served as Minister of Finance and Personnel and Minister of the Environment.
Contents
About Sammy Wilson
Samuel Wilson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His father, Alexander (Sandy) Wilson, was a pastor. Sammy Wilson went to Methodist College in Belfast. He then studied economics and politics at Queen's University of Belfast and Stranmillis University College.
His first job was teaching at Grosvenor Grammar School. He later became the head of economics there. He also helped create exams for A-Level Economics for the CCEA exam board.
Political Journey
Early Career and Local Government
Sammy Wilson started his political journey as the Press Officer for the Democratic Unionist Party. He held this role from 1982 to 1996. In 1981, he was elected as a DUP councillor. He served on the Belfast City Council until March 2010.
As a city councillor, he became the first DUP member to be Lord Mayor of Belfast. This was in 1986 and 1987. He also served a second term as Lord Mayor from 2000 to 2001.
Member of the Legislative Assembly
In May 1996, Mr. Wilson was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum. He represented East Belfast. He continued to represent this area in the Northern Ireland Assembly when it was created in June 1998.
In the 2003 Assembly election, Wilson was elected in the East Antrim constituency. He served as an MLA for East Antrim until 2015.
Member of Parliament
In the 2005 Westminster Election, Sammy Wilson became the MP for East Antrim. He won with 49.6% of the votes.
He has also been a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Northern Ireland Housing Council. As the DUP's education spokesperson, he spoke out against plans to change the school system in Northern Ireland.
In September 2020, Mr. Wilson was seen on the London Underground without a face mask. This was during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister for the Environment (2008–2009)
On 9 June 2008, Sammy Wilson became the Minister of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive.
During his time as Environment Minister, some environmental groups criticized his views. Mr. Wilson has stated that he does not agree with the idea that man-made climate change is a major problem. He believes that resources should be used to adapt to the consequences of climate change, rather than trying to stop it.
Minister for Finance and Personnel (2009–2013)
In June 2009, Mr. Wilson became the Minister of Finance and Personnel. First Minister Peter Robinson praised him. He said Wilson was very qualified for the role.
His time as Finance Minister happened during a difficult economic period for Northern Ireland. He was praised for his leadership. He received support from different political parties for stopping bonuses for civil servants during the recession. In July 2013, he was replaced by Simon Hamilton in a planned change.
Chief Whip Role
In December 2019, Sammy Wilson was chosen as the Chief Whip for the DUP in Westminster. He took over from Jeffrey Donaldson.
In February 2024, Mr. Wilson stepped down from this role. He explained in March 2024 that he did so because he felt he could not make members vote for policies he disagreed with. He said he had "reservations about some of the things that the party has agreed with the Government."
In October 2024, he returned to his role as the party's Chief Whip at Westminster.
Views on Brexit
Sammy Wilson has been a strong supporter of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, known as Brexit. On 9 February 2016, he spoke in the House of Commons. He said he wanted to "break down the walls of the prison in which we have been held for the last 40-odd years." He believed leaving would help the UK regain control over its money and resources.
As the DUP's Brexit spokesperson, he believed a new agreement could be made to remove the Northern Ireland backstop. In January 2019, during a debate, he responded to concerns about food shortages after a no-deal Brexit. He jokingly suggested people could "Go to the chippy" instead of worrying about empty supermarket shelves.
However, by January 2021, he noted that Brexit had led to empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland. He also mentioned that many suppliers in England were no longer sending goods to Northern Ireland.
Views on Climate Change
Even though he was once the Environment Minister for Northern Ireland, Sammy Wilson has different views on climate change. In 2009, he stopped some TV and radio advertisements about climate change from being shown in Northern Ireland. He said he did not want these messages promoted there. He also stated that future environmental messages would need his permission to be promoted in Northern Ireland.
