Walter Millar is a unionist politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Millar grew up on a farm in Newmills

Newmills

Newmills is a small village in east County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, three miles from Dungannon and two miles from Coalisland. Newmills gets its name from a corn mill and kilns that formerly stood in the area. Local amenities include a primary school, a local shop and a number of churches. It...

, County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

. He became the founding secretary of the Newmills Apprentice Boys

Apprentice Boys of Derry

The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 80,000, founded in 1814. They are based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. However, there are Clubs and branches across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield...

 in 1982. He was elected to Cookstown District Council

Cookstown District Council

Cookstown District Council is a district council covering an area largely in County Tyrone and partly in County Londonderry. Council headquarters are in Cookstown. Small towns in the council area include Pomeroy, Moneymore, Coagh and Stewartstown and in the east the area is bounded by Lough Neagh...

 for the Democratic Unionist Party

Democratic Unionist Party

The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

 (DUP) at the Northern Ireland local elections, 1985

Northern Ireland local elections, 1985

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1985.-1981 elections:The previous elections had been fought in the middle of the hunger strike and the H-Block Prison Protest...

, and held his seat in 1989

Northern Ireland local elections, 1989

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989.-Background:The elections took place after a turbulent period in Northern Irish politics. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in November 1985 had been followed by widespread protests by those in the Unionist community...

. For part of this period, he served as Vice-Chairman of the council.

Millar resigned from the DUP in the mid-1990s, joining the Ulster Independence Movement

Ulster Independence Movement

The Ulster Independence Movement was an Ulster nationalist political party founded on 17 November 1988. The group emerged from the Ulster Clubs, after a series of 15 public meetings across Northern Ireland...

. He stood for his new party in Mid Ulster

Mid Ulster (Assembly constituency)

Mid Ulster is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

 at the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum

Northern Ireland Forum

The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

, but his list only took 263 votes, and he was not elected. He also failed to be elected from his fourth place on the party's regional list.

Millar was also a leading figure in the Tyrone Orange Order, and rose to become Deputy Grand Master to Joel Patton. Like Patton, he was a leading figure in the Spirit of Drumcree

Drumcree conflict

The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...

 group, and the two were compelled to leave the order in 1998.

Opposing the St Andrews Agreement

St Andrews Agreement

The St Andrews Agreement was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in relation to the devolution of power to Northern Ireland...

, Millar joined the UK Unionist Party

UK Unionist Party

The UK Unionist Party was a small unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1995 to 2008. It was nominally formed by Robert McCartney, formerly of the Ulster Unionist Party, to contest a by-election the North Down by-election, 1995 and then further constituted to contest the 1996...

, and stood in Mid Ulster again at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...

. In one of the party's better results, he took 2.7% of the votes cast. The party disbanded soon afterwards, and Millar became the founding Mid Ulster Chairman of Traditional Unionist Voice

Traditional Unionist Voice

Traditional Unionist Voice is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland founded on 7 December 2007, as an anti-St Andrews Agreement splinter group from the Democratic Unionist Party . Its first and current leader is Jim Allister who, until 2009, sat as an independent Member of the European...

. He stood in the Westminster constituency of Mid Ulster

Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)

Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...

 at the 2010 UK general election, holding his deposit

Deposit (politics)

A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...

, taking fifth place and 7.3% of the votes cast. The following year, he stood in the equivalent constituency at the Assembly election, and received 4.7% of the vote. He also stood for TUV in Cookstown at the Northern Ireland local elections, 2011

Northern Ireland local elections, 2011

The most recent Northern Ireland local government elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2011.European Union and Commonwealth citizens who were aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote...

, but came bottom of the poll, with 461 votes.