James Glencairn Cunningham

Who is James Glencairn Cunningham?

James Glencairn Cunningham was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Cunningham was from an Ulster family; his father was Samuel Cunningham, and his brothers were Josias Cunningham, stockbroker, Dunlop McCosh Cunningham, owner of Murrays Tobacco Ltd and Sir Knox Cunningham, Bt.. He was sent to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and then to Fettes College in Edinburgh. During World War II, he served with the 8th Belfast regiment of the Royal Artillery Special Reserve, the 245 heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery and the 14th Army in Burma. In 1945, he was awarded the OBE. He was also a member of the B Specials.

After the war, Cunningham became owner and managing director of the The Northern Whig newspaper. He served as President of the Ulster Unionist Council and, from 1957 to 1965 and 1967 to 1972, as an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Senate of Northern Ireland.

In 1979, Cunningham became a Patron of the Ulster Unionist Council and, around this time, retired from his other posts. He died in 1996.