Jim Hendron

Jim Hendron (born 1 October 1931) is a former politician in Northern Ireland.

Hendron worked as a lawyer^[1] and joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland on its formation. He was elected to its first Central Executive as a representative of Belfast Bloomfield.^[2] In the early 1970s, he served as the party's Chairman,^[3] and later served as president.^[1] On 5 February 1973, prior to the 1973 Northern Ireland border poll, he stated that "Support for the position of Northern Ireland as an integral part of the United Kingdom is a fundamental principle of the Alliance Party, not only for economic reasons but also because we firmly believe that a peaceful solution to our present tragic problems is only possible within a United Kingdom context. Either a Sinn Fein all-Ireland republic or a Vanguard-style Ulster republic would lead to disaster for all our people."^[4] He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention from South Belfast,^[5] but did not stand again until the 1997 general election, when he stood in East Belfast. Although he was not elected, he received the Alliance Party's best share of the vote that year.^[6]

Hendron's younger brother Joe Hendron was a Social Democratic and Labour Party politician.^[7]

References

1. "Hendron wins Alliance ticket", Belfast Telegraph, 26 September 1996
2. Alliance Annual Conference 1971, CAIN Web Service
3. Richard Deutsch and Vivien Magowan, Northern Ireland, 1968–73
4. "Many errors in poll vote applications". The News Letter. Belfast. 6 February 1973. p. 5.; "Vote in Border Poll-Alliance". Belfast Telegraph. 5 February 1973. p. 3.
5. South Belfast 1973–1984 Archived 22 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Elections
6. East Belfast, Northern Ireland Elections
7. Thomas G. Mitchell, Native Vs. Settler, p.111

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
New convention	Member for South Belfast 1975–1976	Convention dissolved