Brian Faulkner - Ministerial Office

Ministerial Office

In 1959 he became Minister of Home Affairs and his safe handling of security for most of the Irish Republican Army campaign of 1956-62 bolstered his reputation in the eyes of the right wing of Ulster unionism.

When Terence O'Neill became Prime Minister in 1963 he offered Faulkner, his chief rival for the job, the post of Minister of Commerce, a post he held until his acrimonious resignation in 1969. He congratulated by others, including the nationalist opposition for his energetic and sustained approach in this high profile role.

His resignation over the technicalities of how and when to bring in the local government reforms which the British Labour government was pushing for was probably the final nail in the political coffin of Terence O'Neill, who resigned in the aftermath of his failure to achieve a good enough result in the Northern Ireland general election, 1969.

In the ensuing leadership contest, Faulkner was again denied the prize when O'Neill gave his casting vote to his cousin, James Chichester-Clark. In 1970, Faulkner became the Father of the House.

Faulkner came back into government as Minister of Development under Chichester-Clark and in a sharp turn-around, began the implementation of the political reforms that were the main cause of his resignation from O'Neill's cabinet.

Chichester-Clark himself resigned in 1971; the political and security situation and the more intensive British interest proved too much for this mild-mannered man.