John Baxter is a former solicitor 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...

.

Born in Coleraine

Coleraine

Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...

, Baxter studied at Trinity College Dublin, where he was secretary of Trinity Week, then Queen's University Belfast and Tulane University

Tulane University

Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...

 in New Orleans, before returning to Coleraine to work as a solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

. In 1969, he was President of Coleraine Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

, and from 1970 to 1972, he lectured at the New University of Ulster.

He 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...

 in North Antrim

North Antrim (Assembly constituency)

North Antrim 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...

 at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973

-Seats summary:-Source:* http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fa73.htm...

, and was appointed to the 1974 Executive

Northern Ireland Executive (1974)

After the Northern Ireland Assembly elections of 1973, negotiations between the pro-agreement parties on the formation of a "power-sharing Executive" began. The most contentious issues were internment, policing and the question of a Council of Ireland....

 as Head of the Department of Information Services. He subsequently left politics to focus on his legal career, and is currently a member of the Law Society

Law society

A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...

's Practice Advisory Service, a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel Northern Ireland, Deputy Coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

for North Antrim and a member of the Council of the University of Ulster.