Fred Cobain, MBE (born 30 April 1946) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland, serving as a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA since 2019 . He was previously an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 until 2011.
Fred Cobain | |
|---|---|
| Member of Belfast City Council | |
| Assumed office 2 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Lydia Patterson |
| Constituency | Castle |
| In office 5 May 2005 – 27 August 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Billy Hutchinson |
| Succeeded by | Fred Rodgers |
| Constituency | Oldpark |
| In office 15 May 1985 – 7 June 2001 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | Elaine McMillen |
| Constituency | Court |
| Member of Carrickfergus Borough Council | |
| In office 30 December 2013 – 22 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | David Hilditch |
| Succeeded by | Council abolished |
| Constituency | Carrick Castle |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast North | |
| In office 25 June 1998 – 2011 | |
| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Succeeded by | Paula Bradley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 April 1946 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Democratic Unionist Party (2013 - present) |
| Other political affiliations | Ulster Unionist Party (until 2013) |
| Spouse | Sandra Cobain |
| Website | http://www.fredcobain.com |
Political career
editCobain was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1990–1991. In 1996, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in North Belfast.[1] He was later elected as an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Belfast in 1998.[2]
Cobain was Chair of the Assembly's Committee for Social Development and served two terms on the Northern Ireland Policing Board[3]
On 29 December 2007 he was named MBE in the New Year Honours 2008.
After the Christmas 2010 water crisis, Cobain supported a vote of no confidence in Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy, saying "At the end of the day in all of these issues the individual who leads the department is responsible and I have to say if this was any other part of the UK, or any other part of these islands, the minister would have been away weeks ago...This minister doesn't appear to accept any responsibility for anything."[4]
He lost his seat in the 2011 Assembly election.
On 14 January 2013, Fred Cobain left the Ulster Unionist party which he had served for more than 30 years. He joined the Democratic Unionist Party saying the UUP was "riven with personal and policy divisions" and was "politically exhausted".[5] Cobain was co-opted on to Carrickfergus Borough Council as a councillor for the Carrick Castle area.[6][7] He ran for the DUP but failed to be elected to the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in the May 2014 Elections.[8] He was elected for the DUP to the Castle electoral area of Belfast City Council in the May 2019 Elections.
Family
editHe is married and has two children.
References
edit- ^ Northern Ireland elections
- ^ Northern Ireland Assembly Information Office (26 November 2003). "N.I. Assembly website". Niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Our People – Fred Cobain MLA". Northern Ireland Policing Board. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
This is Mr Cobain's second term on the Board
- ^ "BBC News – Gregory Campbell backs Conor Murphy no confidence vote". BBC News Online. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ "BBC News – Fred Cobain leaves UUP and joins DUP". BBC News Online. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ McBride, Sam (19 December 2013). "DUP councillor David Hilditch gives seat to defector Fred Cobain". The News Letter. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Councillor Fred Cobain". Carrickfergus Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ Whyte, Nicholas (16 November 2014). "Mid and East Antrim District Council Elections, 2014". Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
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