| John Hunter | |
| Office: | Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for South Antrim |
| Term Start: | 30 May 1996 |
| Term End: | 25 April 1998 |
| Party: | Ulster Unionist Party |
John Hunter is a former Northern Irish unionist politician.
An active member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Hunter wrote A Brief History of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1993.[1] Hunter was close to David Trimble and, unenthusiastic about Jim Molyneaux's leadership of the party, he backed Trimble's successful candidacy in the September 1995 leadership election.[2] However, he rapidly became unhappy with Trimble's willingness to reconsider the party's views on the Irish republican movement.[3] He accompanied Trimble to a meeting with John Major in June 1996, at which Major announced that he intended to ask George J. Mitchell to chair talks relating to the Northern Ireland peace process.[4]
While Hunter occasionally attended the talks, which led to the Good Friday Agreement, he did not form part of the main talks team.[5] He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in South Antrim.[6] He opposed the Agreement, and although he was selected as a party candidate for the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election,[7] he was not elected.[8]
Hunter was suggested as a possible UUP candidate in the 2000 South Antrim by-election,[9] but the party instead stood David Burnside.