John Miller Andrews
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Miller Andrews (July 17, 1871 – August 5, 1956) was the second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
Andrews was born in Ulster, Ireland, UK in 1871. He was educated at RBAI and became a flax-spinner and was also a wealthy landowner. His brother, Thomas Andrews, was managing director of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Andrews served as a MP in the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1921 until 1953. He held a number of positions before becoming Prime Minister in 1940, including Minister for Labour and Minister for Finance. Andrews was also a member of the Orange Order.
In 1943 backbench dissent forced him from office, however he remained the recognised leader of the Party for a further three years. Five years later he became the Grand Master of the Orange Order. From 1929, he was the last parliamentary survivor of the original 1921 Northern Ireland Parliament, and as such was recognised as the Father of the House.
John Millar Andrews was a committed and active member of the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland.<ref name=bbc>Plantation of Ulster - Religious Legacy — from the BBC History website, retrieved 28 November 2006.</ref> He regularly attended Sunday worship in the church built on land donated by his Great-grandfather (James Andrews) in his home town Comber. John Miller Andrews served on the Comber Congregational Committee from 1896 until his death in 1956 (holding the position of Chairman from 1935 onwards). He is buried in the small graveyard adjoining the Church.
His name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Millar Andrews, he was named after his maternal great-uncle, John Miller of Comber (1795 - 1883).
| Parliament of Northern Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Newly Created Title | Father of the House 1929–1953 | Succeeded by: Cahir Healy |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by: Newly Created Office | Minister of Labour 1921–1937 | Succeeded by: David Graham Shillington |
| Preceded by: Hugh MacDowell Pollock | Minister of Finance 1937–1941 | Succeeded by: John Milne Barbour |
| Preceded by: James Craig | Leader of the Unionist Party 1940–1946 | Succeeded by: Sir Basil Brooke |
| Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1940–1943 | ||
| | |
|---|---|
|
James Craig | John Miller Andrews | Basil Brooke | Terence O'Neill | James Chichester-Clark | Brian Faulkner |
[edit] References
2. http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/ppi/pp000100.htm
This gives the reference to John Miller Andrews in the Prominent person's index (card 100)
3. http://www.uup.org/welcome_history_leaders.htm
This is the website of the Ulster Unionist Party, John Miller Andrews is 5th in the list of party leaders.
4. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/pidocs.asp?P=P618
This is the National Archive and refers to the PRO in Northern Ireland and provides a link to the entry in the Dictionary of National Biography (for subscribers only).
5. "John Miller Andrews Northern Ireland's Wartime Prime Minister" by Clive Scoular. A biography published by Clive Scoular in 2004 (Printed by W& G Baird Ltd). An online review can be found at:
http://www.irishsecrets.ie/history-secrets/prominent-people/thomas-andrews.php
