Joe Hendron

Dr Joe Hendron is a Northern Ireland politician. Born in 1933, he was the Irish nationalist SDLP MP for Belfast West between April 1992 and May 1997. He had taken the seat from Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, with a majority of 1%, gaining unprecedented support from both Irish Catholics and British Protestants in the Belfast West constituency. Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein regained the seat at the next election in May 1997. Joe Hendron, also a local GP physician for 40 years was originally elected as a political representative of Belfast West in 1975 to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention. Additionally in 1980 as an SDLP member of Belfast City Council for the area and in 1982 to the Northern Ireland Assembly. In 1996 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue and in 1998 to the newly reconvened Northern Ireland Assembly. However he controversially lost his seat in the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election to a member of Ian Paisley's hardline pro-British Protestant DUP party.

He is a recently appointed Parades Commissioner.