Ian Paisley
/ˌiːən ˈpeɪzli/
/ˌiːən ˈpeɪzli/
- (1926-2014) a Northern Irish religious and political leader, well known for his strong views against the IRA, the Republic of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a Presbyterian minister (= priest) in 1946 and established his own religious group, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, in 1951. He established the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971, and was its leader from 1974 to 2008. He was a Member of Parliament from 1970 - 2008 and was an MEP from 1979 to 2004. After an agreement to share power was made between the Irish and British governments in 2007, he became First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly with Martin McGuinness, a Sinn Fein MP, as his deputy.