William Wright (businessman)

Sir William Wright
CBE
Member of Ballymena Borough Council
In office
19 May 1993 – 5 May 2005
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byJohn Carson
ConstituencyBallymena North
In office
20 May 1981 – 15 May 1985
Preceded byThomas Smyth
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyBallymena Area B
Member of the Constitutional Convention
for North Antrim
In office
1975–1976
Preceded byConvention established
Succeeded byConvention dissolved
Personal details
BornWilliam Thompson Wright
(1927-09-18)18 September 1927
Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Died24 July 2022(2022-07-24) (aged 94)
Ballymena, Northern Ireland
PartyIndependent Unionist (1998 - 2005)
Ulster Unionist (1978 - 1998)
Other political
affiliations
Ulster Vanguard (1970s - 1978)

Sir William Thompson Wright, CBE (18 September 1927 – 24 July 2022) was a Northern Irish business owner and Unionist politician.

Early life

William Thompson Wright was born on 18 September 1927 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, where he also grew up.[1][2] He first came to prominence in the late 1950s, when he joined his father's company, the vehicle body building business Robert Wright & Son.[3][4]

Politics

In the 1970s, Wright joined the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party and was elected as its Chairman.[5] He stood for the party in North Antrim at the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention election in 1975, and was elected.[6] He later followed the party leaders in joining the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and was elected to Ballymena Borough Council for this new party at the 1981 Northern Ireland local elections.[7] He lost his seat at the 1985 election, and did not stand in 1989,[8] but was re-elected in 1993 and won again in 1997.[9]

Wright stood for election to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, but was not elected.[10] In 1998, he resigned from the UUP, and stood unsuccessfully in the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election as an independent Unionist.[11] He held his council seat in 2001, before finally standing down in 2005.[9]

Business

Outside politics, Wright took over the family business, moving it into the construction of buses, a process which saw it become the Wright Group, with Wrightbus as its best-known subsidiary.[3]

Death

Wright died at his home in Gracehill, Ballymena, in the early hours of 24 July 2022, aged 94.[12][2]

Honours

Wright was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 Birthday Honours for services to Industry and the community.[13] He was promoted to Commander of this Order (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the Bus Industry.[14] Wright was then knighted in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to the economy and the bus industry.[15] He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim in Northern Ireland on 18 January 2019.[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ "William Thompson Wright". Companies House.
  2. 1 2 "Wright, Sir William Thompson". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Company History", The Wright Group
  4. ↑ Margaret Canning, "Wrightbus boss drives off with Belfast Telegraph's top business award", Belfast Telegraph, 28 March 2014
  5. ↑ Ted Nealon, Northern Ireland: A Parliamentary Directory, p.227
  6. ↑ "North Antrim 1973–1982", Northern Ireland Elections
  7. ↑ "The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Ballymena", Northern Ireland Elections
  8. ↑ "Local Government Elections 1985 – 1989: Ballymena", Northern Ireland Elections
  9. 1 2 "Ballymena Borough Council Elections 1993–2011", Northern Ireland Elections
  10. ↑ "1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in North Antrim", Northern Ireland Elections
  11. ↑ "North Antrim", Northern Ireland Elections
  12. ↑ Rutherford, Adrian (24 July 2022). "'Ballymena has lost a giant': Tributes paid as Wrightbus founder Sir William Wright dies aged 94". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "No. 56237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2001. p. 13.
  14. ↑ "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 2011. p. 9.
  15. ↑ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N2.
  16. ↑ "Freedom of the Borough | Mid and East Antrim Borough Council". www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "Council to confer Honorary Freedom of the Borough on Sir William Wright CBE in January". www.ballymenatimes.com. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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