death_date children nationality birth_date constituency_am term_end death_place term_start spouse image name predecessor birth_place assembly party office website successor religion article_title
8 january 2007 mark owen british 21 july 1953 belfast east 2007 8 january 2007 belfast 2002 25 june 1998 jeanette cunningham -lrb- 1971 -rrb- david ervine.jpg david ervine hugh smyth '' new creation '' belfast , northern ireland northern ireland progressive unionist party leader of the progressive unionist party -lsb- http://www.pup-ni.org.uk/ pup -rsb- dawn purvis dawn purvis methodist david ervine

david ervine

david ervine -lrb- 21 july 1953 -- 8 january 2007 -rrb- was a northern irish unionist politician from northern ireland and the leader of the progressive unionist party -lrb- pup -rrb- .
during his youth ervine was a member of the ulster volunteer force -lrb- uvf -rrb- and was imprisoned for possessing bomb-making equipment .
whilst in jail he became convinced of the benefits of a more political approach for ulster loyalism and became involved with the pup .
as a leading pup figure , ervine helped to deliver the loyalist ceasefire of 1994 .
