Jeremy Burchill is a former barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and unionist politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Burchill studied at Campbell College

Campbell College

Campbell College is a Voluntary Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The College educates boys from ages 11–18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council.The school occupies...

 and Queen's University, Belfast, then became chair of the Ulster Young Unionist Council. He contested the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....

 election in Belfast South

Belfast South (Assembly constituency)

Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

 in 1975, and was elected for the Ulster Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

, becoming the youngest member of the convention. At the 1979 UK general election, he stood in North Antrim

North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)

North Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. Its current member is Ian Paisley Jr.-Boundaries:North Antrim has always been a county constituency comprising the northern part of County Antrim in the north-east of Northern Ireland...

, taking second place, with 23.4% of the vote.

Burchill was elected to Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

, representing Area A, in 1981

Northern Ireland local elections, 1981

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981.-Overall:-Belfast:...

. He was also elected in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1982, taking a seat in Belfast East

Belfast East (Assembly constituency)

Belfast East is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

. He stood in the equivalent seat

Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)

Belfast East is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, elected in 2010...

 at the UK general election, 1983, taking 24.8% of the vote.

Outside politics, Burchill was a member of both the Northern Ireland and English Bar, but had more recently worked as a consultant to financial service companies.