Robert Coulter

Robert Coulter, (23 October 1929 – 5 September 2018) was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 1998 to 2011. He was a prominent proponent of unionism, and was the second oldest MLA after the Rev. Ian Paisley at the time of his retirement in 2011.

Life and career Between 1998 and 2011 he served as an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Antrim. Coulter was born in 1929, making him the second oldest MLA after the Rev. Ian Paisley.

He was educated at Ballymena College, Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Ulster.

He was married, with one son and one daughter. He was a retired Presbyterian minister and a former lecturer in religious studies at Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education.

He was elected a Councillor for Ballymena Borough Council in 1985 and was Mayor of Ballymena from 1993 to 1996.

Coulter was elected Alderman of the Borough of Ballymena in 1996.

He was elected to represent the constituency of North Antrim in the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue (1996–1998)

At the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Antrim.

In 2010, the reverend Dr. Robert Coulter was honored for his public service with membership in the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Coulter did not put his name forward for the 2011 election in North Antrim, effectively retiring. He was in his 80s.

Coulter died on 5 September 2018, at the age of 88.