William James Morgan

Who was William James Morgan?

William James Morgan was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

A businessman by profession, he owned James Morgan & Sons, a transport contractors' business. He was president of the Irish Temperance Alliance and chairman of Oldpark YMCA. He was elected to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from the Belfast Oldpark seat in 1949, and represented the constituency until his defeat by Labour in 1958. He was then elected for Belfast Clifton in a 1959 by-election, and served that constituency until being defeated in 1969.

He served as Assistant Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Assistant Whip from 1958 to 1961. This included five months while not holding a seat in Parliament, something which was permitted for a maximum of six months under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. He entered the Cabinet and Privy Council of Northern Ireland in 1961 as Minister of Health and Local Government and was appointed as Minister of Labour and National Insurance in 1964, and then Minister of Health and Social Services from 1965 to 1969, when he resigned.