{{Short description|Northern Ireland politician (1933–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Bleakes | office = Mayor of Lisburn | deputy = | term_start = 1988 | term_end = 1989 | predecessor = | successor = | office1 = Member of Lisburn Borough Council | constituency1 = Downshire | term_start1 = 15 May 1985 | term_end1 = 7 June 2001 | predecessor1 = District created | successor1 = James Baird | constituency2 = Lisburn Area B | term_start2 = 18 May 1977 | term_end2 = 15 May 1985 | predecessor2 = Ivan McKeever | successor2 = District abolished | office3 = Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for <br> North Down | term_start3 = 1982 | term_end3 = 1986 | predecessor3 = ''Assembly re-established'' | successor3 = ''Assembly dissolved'' | birth_date = {{birth date text|1933}} | birth_place = Lisburn, Northern Ireland | death_date = {{death date and given age|2021|10|17|88|df=y}} | death_place = Lisburn, Northern Ireland | party = Independent Unionist (1998–2001) <br/> NI Conservative (1989–1998) | other_party = Ulster Unionist (1981–1989) <br/> United Ulster Unionist (until 1981) }}
'''William George Bleakes''' (1933 – 17 October 2021) was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as Mayor of Lisburn from 1988 to 1989, as well as a Lisburn Borough Councillor from 1977 to 2001.
Additionally, Bleakes was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 1982 until 1986.
==Career== Bleakes was first elected to Lisburn Borough Council in 1977 as a United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) councillor for 'Area B' (equivalent to the current 'Downshire' electoral area.) <ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lglisburn.htm Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Lisburn<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> With the UUUP in decline, he switched to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and was returned to Lisburn Council in 1981 for that party. In 1982 he contested the North Down Assembly constituency, which then included parts of Lisburn. He won the last seat, just six votes ahead of his nearest challenger, the closest margin of the election. He continued to serve as a UUP local councillor, serving as Mayor of Lisburn in 1988–89<ref>[http://www.factni.co.uk/johnwarnock.htm F.A.C.T. | Families Achieving Change Together | John Warnock<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> before joining the Conservative Party. He was re-elected as a Conservative councillor in 1993 and 1997.
Bleakes stood unsuccessfully in the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election in Lagan Valley. He then left the Conservatives to sit as an independent Unionist. However, a change in electoral legislation meant that he was unable to run under that label in 2001 and he lost his seat standing as an Independent.
==Death== Bleakes died in Lisburn on 17 October 2021, at the age of 88.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cochrane |first1=Amy |title=Veteran unionist Billy Bleakes, former Lisburn mayor, has died aged 88 |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/veteran-unionist-billy-bleakes-former-lisburn-mayor-has-died-aged-88/40963245.html |access-date=2 January 2025 |publisher=Belfast Telegraph |date=19 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=William George (Billy) Bleakes |url=https://www.funeraltimes.com/william-george-billybleakes250632260 |access-date=2 January 2025 |publisher=Funeral Times |date=18 October 2021}}</ref>
==References== <references />
{{s-start}} {{s-par|ni/ass82}} {{s-new | Assembly }} {{s-ttl | title = MPA for North Down | years = 1982–1986 }} {{s-non | reason = Assembly abolished }}
{{s-civ}} {{s-break}} {{s-vac | unknown}} {{s-ttl |title=Mayor of Lisburn|years=1988–1989}} {{s-vac | unknown}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleakes, William}} Category:1933 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Members of Lisburn City Council Category:Mayors of places in Northern Ireland Category:Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Category:Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Category:United Ulster Unionist Party politicians Category:Ulster Unionist Party councillors Category:Conservative Party (UK) councillors