Ewart Bell

Sir William Ewart Bell (13 November 1924 – 2 January 2001) was an Irish Rugby Union player and civil servant[1] who became a Rugby Union administrator later in life. He was President of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and Chair of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.[2] He was Permanent Secretary at the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Office[3] from 1979–84, a time marked by Republican hunger strikes.

Early life

Ewart Bell was born in Belfast to Rev. Dr. Frederick George Bell, a Presbyterian minister. His mother was a teacher, and he was the eldest of three children. He attended Methodist College Belfast, where he was Head Boy and Captain of the Rugby First XV. He attended Wadham College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics.[4] In 1946 he went to Cheltenham College where he taught mathematics.[5]

Civil Service

In 1948 he joined the Ministry of Health in the Northern Ireland Government. He moved in 1952 to the Ministry of Commerce, where he was assistant secretary (1962) and secretary (1970). He led the diversification of Northern Ireland's economy into areas including pharmaceuticals and chemical manufacturing thus reducing dependence on textiles, ship manufacturing and agriculture. He was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department of Finance in 1976 and became Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1979. He retained this position until 1984.[6]

He was admitted to the KCB in 1982.

Rugby Union

Bell played Rugby Union for Oxford University, Cheltenham, Collegians[7] and Ulster. In 1953 he made his international debut for Ireland against France. He played all four Five Nations matches for Ireland that year.

Following retirement he became involved in rugby administration. He was president of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union,[8] a member of the IRFU Committee, and its president in 1986–1987.[9][10] He went on to be a member and subsequently Chair of the International Rugby Board.[11] He was appointed President of the Rugby World Cup in 1993,[12] where he presided over the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.[13]

References
  1. "Our leaders should learn from Mandela's brave leap of faith". Belfast Telegraph, Ed Curran 16/02/2010
  2. "Sir Ewart Bell dies". BBC SPORT | NORTHERN IRELAND 3 January 2001
  3. "Britain considered banning Sinn Féin after Harrods bombing". The Irish Times. Dec 28, 2013.
  4. "Ewart Bell, prominent civil servant and rugby player, dies". The Irish Times, Jan 4, 2001, PAUL TANNEY
  5. Trevor Parkhill (1 December 2001). Familia 2001: Ulster Genealogical Review: Number 17. Ulster Historical Foundation. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-1-903688-16-8.
  6. "Files reveal Peter Robinson warned of war in 1981". BBC News, By Eamon Phoenix Historian, 30 December 2011
  7. "Rugby: Sir Ewart Bell - Man of Vision". The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland)]. January 4, 2001 | via Highbeam (subscription required)
  8. "McWeeney set for run out against Munster". The Independent, Tony Ward 04/01/2001
  9. "Obituary: Ewart Bell, World Cup chairman dies at 76 " Telegraph, By Malcolm Brodie, 03 Jan 2001
  10. "Shamed Carminati out for 30 weeks.". Herald Scotland, 18 February 1990
  11. "Rugby Union: Bell rings time on Luyt as World Cup cash flows in: Organisers promise a squeaky-clean tournament". - Sport - The Independent, STEVE BALE, 4 October 1994
  12. Omnibus. Northern Ireland Information Service. 1992. p. 128.
  13. Chris Greyvenstein (1995). Springbok rugby: an illustrated history : the proud story of South African rugby from 1891 to the 1995 World Cup. Sable Media. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-9584062-2-2.
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