James Stronge

Major James Matthew Stronge (21 June 1932 – 21 January 1981) was a soldier and Ulster Unionist Party MP in the Parliament of Northern Ireland, and the later Northern Ireland Assembly. He was the son and heir of Sir Norman Stronge, Bt; they were both killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army at his family home, Tynan Abbey. Life and career Born into an aristocratic family, he was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1967, he was appointed High Sheriff of Armagh. He served as Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Armagh for three years until the prorogation of Stormont in 1972 and a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973-1974. In March 1972 Stronge was one of several unionist figures who appeared on the platform at an Ulster Vanguard rally in Portadown. Three thousand men, including a large contingent of Ulster Special Constabulary Association members, were assembled in front of the platform. He opposed the power-sharing executive established by the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement, stating he couldn't accept an executive which involved nationalist politicians, including the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Stronge was also an officer in the Grenadier Guards. Having withdrawn from political and military life, his main interests since were confined to merchant banking and service as a RUC Reserve Constable.