FOUNDER Alliance Party member, Sir Robert Cooper, has died aged 68. He was perhaps best known for his commitment to ending discrimination in the workplace.Bob, later Sir Robert, Cooper was born in Co Donegal and was the first Joint Political Chairman of the Alliance Party with Sir Oliver Napier.
He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1973 as a member for West Belfast. Afterwards, he was elected as Alliance’s Deputy Leader, a position he held until 1976.
He was appointed Chairman of the Fair Employment Agency in 1976, and also chaired its successor, the Fair Employment Commission, from 1990-99.
In other Alliance news, the party has announced it will run David Alderdice, brother of former leader Lord Alderdice, in the Westminster election in North Down. This could have consequences for the incumbent MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon.