Norah Beare

Norah Beare (born 25 May 1946, Banbridge, County Down) was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley.

Norah Beare
Spokesperson for Health and Social Services
In office 2003–2007
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Lagan Valley
In office 26 November 2003 – 7 March 2007
Preceded by	Ivan Davis
Succeeded by	Jonathan Craig
Personal details
Born	25 May 1946 Banbridge, Northern Ireland
Political party	Democratic Unionist Party
Website	Beare DUP

She was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidate in the Assembly election of 2003;[1] however, she defected to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in 2004 along with Jeffrey Donaldson MP, MLA for Lagan Valley and Arlene Foster, MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.[2]

Norah Beare worked for forty years as a secretary in a number of different companies and then became in 1997 the Personal Assistant to Jeffrey Donaldson. Beare was elected to the Banbridge, County Down council in 2001 as a UUP candidate. On Donaldson's advice she was selected as the third UUP candidate for the November 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

In December 2003 she resigned, with Donaldson and Arlene Foster, from the UUP and subsequently joined the DUP in January 2004. In 2005 she was re-elected to the council as a DUP politician. In January 2007, Beare was not selected by the Lagan Valley DUP association to fight the next Northern Ireland Assembly elections due in early March 2007.

Beare was elected chairman of Banbridge District Council in 2008.[3] She is DUP Party Spokesperson for Health and Social Services.

References

1. "Northern Ireland Assembly Elections – Lagan Valley". ARK Northern Ireland. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
2. "DUP claims UUP defections". BBC. 22 January 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
3. Paul Wilkinson (10 June 2008). "DUP'S Beare Takes the Council Hot Seat". Banbridge Leader. Retrieved 14 February 2010.