Grace Bannister

Who is Grace Bannister?

Grace Bannister, OBE, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Bannister was elected to Belfast Corporation in 1965, representing the Ulster Unionist Party. She stood as an independent Unionist in Belfast South at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973, after failing to secure an official party nomination. She was not elected and continued to sit with the UUP group on the council.

Bannister served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1975–1976, and in 1979 was appointed High Sheriff of Belfast. In 1981 she was elected as the first female Lord Mayor of Belfast, beating Paddy Devlin and Stewart McCrea.