{{Short description|Northern Irish politician (born 1945)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Allan Bresland | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = 150px | alt = | caption = | office = Member of Derry City and Strabane District Council | constituency = Sperrin | term_start = 22 May 2014 | term_end = 26 October 2023 | predecessor = Council created | successor = Gary Wilkinson | office1 = Member of <br/> Strabane District Council | constituency1 = Glenelly | term_start1 = 19 May 1993 | term_end1 = 22 May 2014 | predecessor1 = Samuel Rogers | successor1 = ''Council abolished'' | constituency_AM2 = West Tyrone | assembly2 = Northern Ireland | majority2 = | term_start2 = 7 March 2007 | term_end2 = 5 May 2011 | predecessor2 = Derek Hussey | successor2 = Ross Hussey | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|08|16|df=yes}} | birth_place = Dunamanagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | birth_name = | party = Democratic Unionist Party (until 2025) | other_party = | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = [http://www.dup.org.uk/CanProfile.asp?CandidateID=213 DUP profile] | footnotes = }} '''Allan Bresland''' (born 16 August 1945) is a former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Derry and Strabane Councillor for the Sperrin DEA from 2014 to 2023. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone from 2007 to 2011.<ref name="BA">{{cite web |title=Allan Bresland |work=Northern Ireland Assembly website |url=http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs_07/bresland_a.htm |accessdate=2007-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824015608/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/members/biogs_07/bresland_a.htm |archive-date=24 August 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Background== Bresland was educated at Ballylaw Primary School, is a retired lorry driver with the Water Service.<ref name="BA"/> He was first elected to Strabane District Council in 1993, representing the Glenelly District.
He has been a member of various bodies including the Drainage Council of Northern Ireland, and has also served as chair of the Western Group Environmental Health Committee. He was also Chairman of North West Passage, which promotes tourism in the area and is a member of the District Policing Partnership in Strabane.<ref name="AB">{{cite web|title=Allan Bresland |work=DUP website |url=http://www.dup.org.uk/CanProfile.asp?CandidateID=213 |accessdate=2007-10-10 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090523/http://www.dup.org.uk/CanProfile.asp?CandidateID=213 |archivedate=29 September 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
At the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was elected as one of two DUP MLAs for West Tyrone, defeating Derek Hussey of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) for the sixth and last seat in the constituency.
In 2007, Bresland had among the lowest expenses recipients in the Northern Ireland Assembly at £2,185 from May to October 2007, while others were spending up to £1,000 per week.<ref>{{cite web |author=Caldwell, Johnny| title=£1000 expenses a week for MLAs |work=BBC News NI |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7024714.stm |access-date=2007-10-10 | date=2007-10-03}}</ref>
Bresland lost his Assembly seat at the 2011 Assembly election, but was returned to Strabane District Council in the local elections that same day.
He was elected to the successor Derry City and Strabane District Council in the 2014 local elections, representing the new Sperrin District. He was re-elected to the council in 2019 and 2023. Bresland retired from the Council in October 2023, five months after his re-election.
==Personal life== Bresland lives in Sion Mills and is married with four children and six grandchildren. He is a member of the select vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Sion Mills, an active member of the Orange Order and a founder-member of North Tyrone Credit Union.<ref name="AB"/> He served as a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment for 15 years.<ref name="BA"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070826134423/http://www.strabanedc.org.uk/council/councillors/ Strabane Council] *[https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mla/allan_bresland They Work For You] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110207115715/http://allanbresland.com/ Official website]
{{s-start}} {{s-par|ni/ass}} {{succession box | title = MLA for Tyrone, West | before = Derek Hussey | after = Ross Hussey | years = 2007–2011 }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bresland, Allan}} Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Category:Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Category:Members of Strabane District Council Category:Politicians from County Tyrone Category:Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers Category:Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council
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