Thomas Teevan (Unionist politician)

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Thomas Teevan

Member of Parliament for Belfast West
In office 29 November 1950 – 5 October 1951
Preceded by	J. G. MacManaway
Succeeded by	Jack Beattie

Personal details
Born	Thomas Leslie Teevan July 1927 Limavady, Northern Ireland
Died	11 October 1954 (age 27) Portstewart, Northern Ireland
Political party	Ulster Unionist
Alma mater	Queen's University Belfast

Thomas Leslie Teevan (July 1927 – 11 October 1954) was an Ulster Unionist Party politician and lawyer, notable for his extreme youth when first elected, brief career, and very early death.

Early life

Thomas Teevan was born in Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 1927. He was educated at Limavady Academy and Queen's University Belfast. At his time at university, he served as President of the Literary and Scientific Society (Queen's University Belfast). He was a lecturer in law.

Brief political career

In 1950, a vacancy arose in the Belfast West constituency, owing to the disqualification of the Reverend J. G. MacManaway for being an Anglican priest despite the Church of Ireland being disestablished. Teevan was selected as Unionist candidate for the ensuing by-election.

He was elected on 29 November 1950 over the Northern Ireland Labour Party candidate, Jack Beattie, a former MP for the seat, by 913 votes. Teevan was aged only 23 and became Baby of the House upon taking the oath on 5 December 1950.^[1]

His tenure lasted only 330 days, and he lost the seat to Beattie by just 25 votes in the 1951 general election. Aged only 24, he thus became the youngest person to leave the House of Commons in modern times. MacManaway himself died in November 1951, aged 53.

Career

Teevan qualified as a barrister in Northern Ireland in 1952. He also served as Chairman of Limavady Urban District Council and as vice-president of the North Derry Unionist Association.^[2]

Death

Teevan died suddenly in 1954, at his home in Portstewart, County Londonderry, aged just 27.^[2]^[3]

Notes

^ "New Member Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 5 December 1950.
^ ^a ^b "TEEVAN, Thomas Leslie". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "Obituary: Mr. Thomas L. Teevan", The Times, 12 October 1954, p. 10.

References

'Who's Who of British MPs: Volume IV, 1945-1979' by Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees (Harvester, Brighton, 1979) ISBN 0-85527-335-6

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomas Teevan

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by J. G. MacManaway	Member of Parliament for Belfast West November 1950 – 1951	Succeeded by Jack Beattie
Preceded by Tony Benn	Baby of the House 1950–1951	Succeeded by Tony Benn

v t e Babies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Dickson Levy-Lawson Gordon-Lennox Harrison Cavendish F. Smith Curran Milton Scott Hill Rigg Turnour Wodehouse Mills Wolmer Sassoon Esmonde Whitty Stanley Sweeney Harmsworth Evans Rhys Lucas-Tooth Lee Owen Robinson Willoughby de Eresby C. Taylor Macmillan Profumo Millington Carson Jenkins Baker Benn Teevan Benn Eden Woollam Clarke Kirk Kimball Cooke Ferranti Wolrige-Gordon Channon E. Taylor Steel Ryan Huckfield Devlin Thomas Hayman MacKay Alton Dorrell Sands Dorrell Carron Kennedy M. Taylor Leslie Lammy Teather Swinson C. Smith Nash Black Whittome Mather Carling