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David Hugh Browne MBE is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who was deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast from June 2008 to 2009, as well as High Sheriff of Belfast between January 2005 to 2006. Latterly, he had been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) on Belfast City Council from 2014 to 2019, and a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA from 1993 to 2019.

Life

Browne was elected to Belfast City Council for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in the Castle electoral area at the 1993 elections. He was then elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in Belfast North in 1996, but was unsuccessful when he stood for the same seat at the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election.

Browne continued to hold his council seat for over 25 years, along with a variety of other civic posts. He was appointed as High Sheriff of Belfast in 2005 and, in 2008, he was elected as Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast. At the 2011 local elections, the UUP were reduced to three seats on the council, one of which was held by Browne, who was subsequently appointed as an alderman. In 2012, he was appointed as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He was reappointed as an Alderman in 2015. As of 2017, he was also on the Duncairn Community Centre Committee, the North Belfast Partnership Board and the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme.

In November 2017, during a council meeting, Browne reportedly called Sinn Féin colleague Ciaran Beattie a "one armed bandit." The remark was considered to have been made in reference to Beattie losing his left hand during an explosion in The Troubles. Sinn Féin's group leader on the council, Jim McVeigh, called on Browne to apologise in a statement, saying: “The vile comments spoken against my colleague’s disability by the UUP Cllr, Davey Browne, are disgraceful and should be withdrawn immediately.” Browne later apologised for the remark.

Browne was defeated at the 2019 City Council elections, as were most of his UUP colleagues.

He endorsed DUP candidates, Dean McCullough and Fred Cobain, ahead of the 2023 local elections, for his former Castle District.

Honours

Browne was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of June 2013, cited for "services to Local Government in Northern Ireland."

Personal life

Browne lived in the Skegoneill area of Belfast at the time of his first Council election and still as of 2017.

References

1. "Belfast City Council Elections, 1993-2011". Elections. ARK. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
2. "Northern Ireland Elections". Elections. ARK. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
3. ^ "Alderman DAVID BROWNE". Belfast City Council. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
4. O'Hara, Victoria (3 June 2008). "Deal claims as SF man is new Mayor". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
5. Henry, Lesley-Anne (11 May 2011). "Unionists discussing Belfast City Hall co-operation". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
6. "New members appointed to Belfast Harbour Commissioners". Department of Regional Development, NI. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
7. ^ "Alderman David Browne". Belfast City Council. Belfast City Council. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
8. "Belfast councillor in apology after 'one-armed bandit' row at meeting". Belfast Telegraph. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
9. "UUP councillor calls Sinn Fein colleague with one hand 'a one armed bandit'". Belfast Live. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
10. "Once dominant party in Belfast reduced to just two councillors". ITV News. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
11. "Ex-Belfast UUP councillor endorses DUP candidates in upcoming election". Belfast Telegraph. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
12. "The Queen's Birthday Honours List / Order of the British Empire / Member". The London Gazette. Supplement 60534 (14 June 2013): B1/15. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2020. For services to Local Government in Northern Ireland
13. McKay, Susan (2000). Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People (1st ed.). Belfast: Blackstaff Press. p. 64. ISBN 085640666X.

• Politicians from Belfast
• Ulster Unionist Party councillors
• Members of Belfast City Council
• Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
• High sheriffs of Belfast
• Members of the Order of the British Empire
• Living people