Major Samuel Foster CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 (born 7 December 1931) is a former 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...

 politician who served in the Northern Ireland Executive

Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...

.

Foster was educated at Enniskillen Technical College and the Ulster Polytechnic, and was by profession a Social Worker. He was a Special Constable in the Ulster Special Constabulary

Ulster Special Constabulary

The Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...

 for 21 years and was an Officer with the rank of Major in the Ulster Defence Regiment

Ulster Defence Regiment

The Ulster Defence Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage...

 until his election to Fermanagh District Council

Fermanagh District Council

Fermanagh District Council is a local council in Northern Ireland. The borders of the district are very similar to those of the traditional County Fermanagh, containing all of that county plus a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore Road and Kilskeery Road areas. Council headquarters are...

 in 1981. He retired from the Council in 2001 having been Chairman in 1995-1997. He was highly commended for his efforts to rescue victims of the 1987 Remembrance Day bombing

Remembrance Day Bombing

The Remembrance Day bombing took place on 8 November 1987 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland...

, of which he was nearly a victim himself.

He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 for Fermanagh & South Tyrone

Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency)

Fermanagh and South Tyrone 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...

 and was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

 in 1998

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998

-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...

. In 1999 he was appointed Environment Minister by the David Trimble

David Trimble

William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party , was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland , and was a Member of the British Parliament . He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party...

, reportedly as a reward not only to Foster for his long service, but to Fermanagh UUP for their support of Trimble, however was forced to resign in 2002 with the advancement of Parkinson’s Disease. He was replaced by Dermot Nesbitt

Dermot Nesbitt

Dermot Nesbitt is a politician from Northern Ireland.Nesbitt studied economics at Queens University Belfast and joined the Ulster Unionist Party...

.

Having been a member of the Northern Ireland Police Authority from 1982-85 he was appointed to the Northern Ireland Policing Board

Northern Ireland Policing Board

The Northern Ireland Policing Board is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Northern Ireland...

 in 1999 on which he remained until it was reconstituted in 2006. He stood down from the Assembly at the 2003 elections

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003

The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...

.

He is married with three children and is a lifelong member of the Loyal Orders. A nephew of Foster's is married to current DUP Environment Minister, Arlene Foster

Arlene Foster

Arlene Isabel Foster is a politician in Northern Ireland. She is one of two Democratic Unionist Party MLAs representing the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She became Minister of the Environment on 8 May 2009 and was subsequently reshuffled into the...