James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon

The Right Honourable The Viscount Craigavon PC PC (NI) DL
1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
In office 7 June 1921 – 24 November 1940
Monarchs	George V Edward VIII George VI
Governor	The Duke of Abercorn
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	J. M. Andrews
4th Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
In office 7 June 1921 – 24 November 1940
Preceded by	Sir Edward Carson
Succeeded by	J. M. Andrews
Ministerial positions Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty In office 2 April 1920 – 1 April 1921 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by Thomas James Macnamara Succeeded by Leo Amery Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions In office 10 January 1919 – 2 April 1920 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by Arthur Griffith-Boscawen Succeeded by George Tryon Treasurer of the Household In office 14 December 1916 – 22 January 1918 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by James Hope Succeeded by Robert Sanders
Northern Ireland Parliament Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for North Down In office 22 May 1929 – 24 November 1940 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Thomas Bailie Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Down In office 24 May 1921 – 22 May 1929 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished
British Parliament Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal In office 1 January 1927 – 24 November 1940 Hereditary Peerage Succeeded by The 2nd Viscount Craigavon Member of Parliament for Mid Down In office 14 December 1918 – 2 July 1921 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Robert Sharman-Crawford Member of Parliament for East Down In office 8 February 1906 – 14 December 1918 Preceded by James Wood Succeeded by Sir David Reid
Personal details
Born	(1871-01-08)8 January 1871 Belfast, Ireland
Died	24 November 1940(1940-11-24) (aged 69) Glencraig, Northern Ireland
Resting place	Stormont Parliament Buildings
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Spouse	Cecil Mary Tupper
Children	3
Education	Merchiston
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1899–1901
Rank	Captain
Unit	3rd (Militia) Royal Irish Rifles
Battles/wars	Second Boer War

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon PC PC (NI) DL (8 January 1871 – 24 November 1940), was a leading Irish unionist and a key architect of Northern Ireland as a devolved region within the United Kingdom. During the Home Rule Crisis of 1912–14, he defied the British government in preparing an armed resistance in Ulster to an all-Ireland parliament. He accepted partition as a final settlement, securing the opt out of six Ulster counties from the dominion statehood accorded Ireland under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. From then until his death in 1940, he led the Ulster Unionist Party and served Northern Ireland as its first Prime Minister. He publicly characterised his administration as a "Protestant" counterpart to the "Catholic state" nationalists had established in the south. Craig was created a baronet in 1918 and raised to the Peerage in 1927.