Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party

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Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
Incumbent Mike Nesbitt MLA since 30 August 2024
Appointer	Elected by party
Inaugural holder	Edward James Saunderson
Formation	1905

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party is the most senior position within the party ranks. Since 2024 the leader has been Mike Nesbitt MLA.

List

No.	Name	Term start	Term end	Notes
1	Colonel Edward Saunderson	1905	1906	Also leader of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party
2	Walter Hume Long	1906	1910	Also leader of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party
3	Sir Edward Carson	1910	1921	Also leader of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party
4	The Viscount Craigavon	1921	1940	1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
5	John Miller Andrews	1940	1946	2nd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
6	The Viscount Brookeborough	1946	1963	3rd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
7	Captain Terence O'Neill	1963	1969	4th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
8	James Chichester-Clark	1969	1971	5th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
9	Brian Faulkner	1971	1974	6th and final Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
10	Harry West	1974	1979
11	James Molyneaux	1979	1995
12	David Trimble	1995	2005	First Minister of Northern Ireland
13	Sir Reg Empey	2005	2010
14	Tom Elliott	2010	2012
15	Mike Nesbitt	2012	2017	Leader of the Opposition
16	Robin Swann	8 March 2017	9 Nov 2019
17	Steve Aiken	9 Nov 2019	27 May 2021
18	Doug Beattie	27 May 2021	30 August 2024
19	Mike Nesbitt	30 August 2024		Minister of Health

v t e Ulster Unionist Party
Leaders	Saunderson Long Carson Craigavon Andrews Brookeborough O'Neill Chichester-Clark Faulkner West Molyneaux Trimble Empey Elliott Nesbitt Swann Aiken Beattie
Deputy Leaders	McCusker Taylor Empey & Beggs Kennedy McCallister Butler
Chairman	Rogan Cooper Campbell Empey Kennedy
President	Hamilton Craig J. M. Andrews Dixon Brooke Graham J. L. O. Andrews J. G. Cunningham Clark J. Cunningham Smyth Rogan White Steele (honorary)
General Secretary	Gibson Bates Hungerford Douglas Bailie Hutton Millar Wilson Boyd Patterson Rea Corry Wilson C. McCusker
Leadership elections	1969 1971 1974 1979 March 1995 September 1995 2000 2004 2005 2010 2012 2017 2019 2021 2024
Organisational structure	Young Unionists
History and related organisations	Progenitor: Irish Unionist Alliance Allies: Labour Unionists/Liberal Unionist/Conservatives Offshoots: Vanguard (1973–78)/NI21 (2013-16) Electoral alliance: UCUNF (2009)
Lists	List of Ulster Unionist Party MPs Ulster Unionist Party Presidents and General Secretaries List of Ulster Unionist Party Peers
Other topics	Chief Whip Election results Electoral history