Thomas Bailie was an 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...

 (UUP) Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (1941–1953) in the Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

, based at Stormont

Stormont Castle

Stormont Castle is a baronial mansion on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is used as the main meeting place of the Northern Ireland Executive....

, during which time he was Deputy Speaker.

Bailie was born in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, USA, the son of William Bailie and Margaret Crooks - his family was from Newtownards

Newtownards

Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...

, County Down. Returning to Northern Ireland, Bailie attended the Ward School, Bangor

Bangor, County Down

Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...

. He was married, in 1908, to Jean Fowler and had five children. He served on Bangor Borough Council from 1913 to 1953.

When the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...

, Lord Craigavon

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...

, died in 1940, Bailie was elected as his replacement in the 1941 by-election in North Down

North Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

North Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:North Down was a county constituency comprising part of northern County Down, immediately south east of Belfast. It was created when the House of Commons Act 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout...

. He won the seat as an independent Unionist defeating the UUP candidate. He held his seat in 1945 unopposed, was elected once more in 1949

Northern Ireland general election, 1949

-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1949...

 as the UUP candidate (with a majority of 11,670 over the Labour Party candidate). By 1953

Northern Ireland general election, 1953

-References:*...

, Bailie was once more an independent; this time he was defeated by Robert Samuel Nixon

Robert Samuel Nixon

Robert Samuel Nixon was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Bob Nixon studied at Mountjoy School in Dublin, then at Queen's University, Belfast, where he qualified as a doctor of medicine...

, the UUP candidate, by 1,097 votes.