About Jack Andrews
Lived 1903 – 1986 (aged 82). Jack Andrews was a British civil servant and politician.
Sir John Lawson Ormrod Andrews (15 July 1903 – 12 January 1986) was a member of both the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the Senate of Northern Ireland.
Son of Prime Minister J. M. Andrews, he was educated at Moure Grange Preparatory School, County Down, and Shrewsbury School. Andrews entered Parliament as MP for Mid Down in 1953 (replacing his father), a seat which he represented until his resignation in 1964, when he was elected to the Senate where he sat until the Parliament was prorogued in 1972. His election to the senate was following a cabinet reshuffle, in which Andrews accepted demotion to the politically unimportant position of Government Minister in the Senate.
He held several Cabinet positions, including Minister in the Senate from 1964 and Deputy Prime Minister from May 1969. He was a contender for the position of Prime Minister on the retirement of Lord Brookeborough, but when it became clear that Terence O'Neill had a comfortable lead over both Andrews and Brian Faulkner in the parliamentary party, no contest was held. In 1969 he was approached by O'Neill to succeed him, but he refused and James Chichester-Clark was elected
During the 1970 Bannside and South Antrim by-elections, Andrews was at the centre of the UUP's pluralist campaign against Ian Paisley's Protestant Unionist Party, declaring "What does Protestant Unionism mean? Does it mean that you have to put a sign over the door of the Unionist Party saying Protestants only?"
Andrews was knighted in 1973. In retirement, he served as President of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
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Important facts
People in Jack Andrews's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jack Andrews's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jack Andrews?
British politician (1903-1986)
When was Jack Andrews born?
Jack Andrews was born on 15 July 1903 in Comber.
When did Jack Andrews die?
Jack Andrews died on 12 January 1986.
What was Jack Andrews's occupation?
Jack Andrews was a civil servant and politician.
What nationality was Jack Andrews?
Jack Andrews was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jack Andrews. https://biography.guide/jack-andrews-civil-servant/
MLA: "Jack Andrews." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jack-andrews-civil-servant/.
Chicago: "Jack Andrews." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jack-andrews-civil-servant/.
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