Education
Born in Ballymena, Simpson studied medicine at Queen"s University Belfast before setting up his own practice.
Born in Ballymena, Simpson studied medicine at Queen"s University Belfast before setting up his own practice.
A strong support of Terence O"Neill"s reforms, Simpson was appointed briefly as Additional Parliamentary Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister, and then as the first Minister for Community Relations in late 1969. He resigned from the freemasons and from the Orange Order in an attempt to appear impartial. When Brian Faulkner became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1971, Simpson was removed from his ministerial post and, the following year, Simpson resigned from the UUP. He spent the remainder of his life writing on medicine, agriculture and travel, developing an arboretum and organising the Ballymena Music Festival.
He joined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in 1952, and was selected as the party"s candidate for Mid Antrim.
Orange Order.