Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a political party in Northern Ireland, a division of the United Kingdom. The party takes its name from the traditional Irish province of Ulster, which included what is now Northern Ireland, as well as the northern part of the Republic of Ireland. The UUP is a unionist party—that is, it is dedicated to preserving Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom. The UUP began with the formation of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905.
The UUP has played a key role in efforts to end decades of conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland. About half the people of Northern Ireland are Protestants, as are most people of the rest of the United Kingdom. Most of the other half of Northern Ireland’s population is Catholic, as are most people in the Republic of Ireland. In general, Protestants have wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom, and Catholics have wanted it to become part of the Irish Republic.
The UUP accepted the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which established the Irish Free State in the south and preserved Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom. But many Catholics opposed the agreement, and the UUP made little effort to win their loyalty. The conflict between Catholics and Protestants erupted in the late 1960’s, beginning an era of violence and terrorism known as the Troubles.
The UUP dominated Northern Ireland’s politics until 1972, when the United Kingdom suspended Northern Ireland’s parliament and began to rule directly from London. The UUP then split, with a group led by Ian Paisley forming the more conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The DUP became the strongest party in Northern Ireland, while the influence of the UUP declined.
In 1998, peace talks on Northern Ireland led to the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement. The agreement gave the people of Northern Ireland the right to decide their region’s political status, and it effectively ended the violence. David Trimble of the UUP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the agreement. Since 1998, however, the UUP has continued to decline in power.
