Rev Martin Smyth (94) served as MP for South Belfast from 1982 until 2005.<\/p>\n
The Co Down man took the seat after Robert Bradford was murdered by the IRA in November 1981.<\/p>\n
Mr Smyth also served as Grand Master of the Orange Order for 26 years.<\/p>\n
Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt led tributes.<\/p>\n
He said: “I am terribly sorry to hear of the passing of Martin Smyth.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my days as a broadcast journalist, he was an ever-present heavyweight in local politics, whose views were always important.<\/p>\n
“He may not have been as prominent as others in the public sphere, but hugely influential behind the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was another of that fateful generation of what we so euphemistically call \u2018The Troubles\u2019 whose imprint will last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
DUP leader Gavin Robinson also offered his condolences.<\/p>\n
The East Belfast MP said: “My sincerest sympathies to the family of the Rev Martin Smyth. A stalwart of unionism, he stepped forward in South Belfast at a most volatile time.<\/p>\n
“Firm and faithful, he represented his constituents and NI with a strong sincere strength and unswerving belief in the Union.\u201d<\/p>\n
TUV leader Jim Allister said Rev Smyth \u201cserved Protestantism and unionism for many years through some of the worst of the terrorist campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland described Rev Smyth as “a leader of unwavering principle and determination through often difficult times and a stalwart of the Orange cause”.<\/p>\n
Former First Minister Arlene Foster reminisced on the \u201chappy memories\u201d she shared with Mr Smyth.<\/p>\n
Jim Nicholson, previous UUP Member of the European Parliament, said his colleague was \u201ca titan\u201d of unionism.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will be remembered for his quiet confidence but also his power as an orator and champion of Ulster unionism,\u201d Mr Nicholson added.<\/p>\n
Lord Peter Weir, a former Education Minister, said he was \u201ca staunch unionist and Orangeman, dedicated public servant and man of conviction\u201d.<\/p>\n
“He was prepared to be a political representative at a time when it literally risked his life,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Rev Smyth resigned his ministry and was elected to Parliament in the 1982 by-election following the murder of Rev Bradford.<\/p>\n
Rev Bradford (40) and a 29-year-old caretaker, Ken Campbell, were shot dead during a constituency clinic at Finaghy Community Centre. No one has ever been convicted of the murders.<\/p>\n
In a lengthy political career, Rev Smyth was an unsuccessful candidate for the UUP leadership in 1995 after the resignation of Lord Molyneaux, finishing fourth to the winner, David Trimble.<\/p>\n
In January 2005, Rev Smyth announced he would be stepping down from Westminster at the next election to spend more time with his wife.<\/p>\n
Alasdair McDonnell took the South Belfast seat for the SDLP.<\/p>\n
UUP councillor Andrew Wilson extended his sympathies to Mr Smyth\u2019s loved ones, adding: \u201cI had the pleasure of spending time with Martin at the Somme in 2013. My thoughts are with his family circle and many friends at this sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bradley Ferguson, a DUP councillor for Lisnasharragh, paid tribute to the \u201cman of deep faith.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rev Martin Smyth (94) served as MP for South Belfast from 1982 until 2005. The Co Down man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[43427,16669,43428,59,57,58,50,56,33687,54,55],"class_list":["post-86163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-arlene-foster","tag-democratic-unionist-party","tag-gavin-robinson","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-ulster-unionist-party","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}