Paisley, Ian

Ian Paisley (left) and Gerry Adams at a press conference, March 26, 2007. [Credit: Paul Faith—AFP/Getty Images]

Paisley, the son of a maverick Baptist minister, was ordained by his father in 1946. He cofounded and became moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951. (In 1969 he founded the Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast.) Paisley's strength lay in his ability to combine the language of biblical certainty with that of politics, and his ideological message blended fervent anti-Catholicism with militant unionism. From the 1960s he strove to become the leader of extreme Protestant opinion in Northern Ireland by organizing street protests and rallies, which led to frequent confrontations with the authorities and a brief prison term for unlawful assembly in 1966. That year he established the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee and the Ulster Protestant Volunteers, which served as paramilitary adjuncts to his churches.

In 1970 Paisley was elected to the British Parliament for North Antrim, N.Ire. The next year, in an attempt to broaden his electoral base, he led a split in the Ulster Unionist Party, cofounding the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). In 1979 he was elected to the European Parliament, where he remained until 2004. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, he sought to turn the DUP into the largest unionist party.

Although Paisley's personal following was never in doubt, his popularity began to show signs of waning after 1994. Despite his considerable oratorical skills, his vibrant churches, and a well-organized political party, he failed to impede attempts at a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland. In April 1998 eight political parties signed the Good Friday Agreement on steps leading to a power-sharing government. Although Paisley had earlier refused to participate in multiparty talks that included Sinn Fein and had campaigned against the accord in a popular referendum held in May 1998, he won a seat in the new Northern Ireland Assembly.

By 2003 the DUP had become the largest unionist party in the Assembly, but devolved power had been suspended the previous year. Paisley made modest overtures to Sinn Fein and took part in multiparty talks, though he insisted that the negotiations were with the British government rather than Sinn Fein. He expressed cautious optimism over Sinn Fein's vote in January 2007 to support the Protestant-dominated police force in Northern Ireland. In the March 2007 Assembly elections, the DUP captured 30% of the vote and 36 of the 108 seats; Sinn Fein was second with 28 seats. The power-sharing executive followed soon after. In September 2007 Paisley affirmed that he would resign as moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in early 2008, but he intended to remain first minister and to run for reelection to the British Parliament if another election was called.

Editor