William Beattie

William John Beattie (21 September 1942 – 13 February 2025) was a Northern Irish minister of religion and unionist politician who was deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from its foundation in 1971 until 1980.

Life and career Beattie grew up in Ballymena. In 1965, he became a student minister at the Dunmurry Free Presbyterian Church, and in 1967 he became a full minister in the Church, led by Ian Paisley. He also joined Paisley's Protestant Unionist Party (PUP), and became the deputy leader. Beattie first came to public attention in 1966 after he took over Paisley's Ulster Hall rallies while he was imprisoned for unlawful assembly.

In 1970, Beattie was elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons in a by-election in South Antrim. Beattie had stood in the same constituency in the previous year's election but failed to be elected. On the same day, Paisley was elected for Bannside, and the two became the PUP's first Members of Parliament. Journalist W. D. Flackes later commented that these by-elections were "probably the most vital in the history of the Stormont House of Commons". Writing in Fortnight magazine in 1983, journalist Andy Pollak described Beattie as "one of the last truly unashamed voices of Northern Irish bigotry".