Doug Beattie

"Born in barracks" in 1965, his father was a warrant officer in the Royal Ulster Rifles a regiment of the British Army. The family settled in Portadown, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland when he was 10 following the cessation of his father's regular service. The family moved into a house in Union Street, situated in the densely populated Edgarstown area on the outskirts of the town centre.[2]

Beattie's mother died young, leaving his father (who had by this time enlisted with the Ulster Defence Regiment) to bring him and two brothers up. At the age of 15 he accidentally shot a friend when the two of them discovered Beattie Snr's personal protection weapon and were playing with it. Although shot in the head, his friend recovered.[3]

At the age of 16 in 1982, Beattie joined the Royal Irish Rangers and following training was posted to the 2nd Battalion who were stationed in Wavell Barracks, Berlin.[4]

In over 28 years of service rose to the rank of regimental sergeant major. During that time he served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Northern Ireland being awarded the General Officer NI commendation, the Queen's Commendation for Bravery and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal. He was commissioned from the ranks in 2005, gaining promotion to captain.[5]

As part of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, Captain Beattie was part of an operation intended to retake the town of Garmsir in Helmand Province. As a result of his actions during the intense fighting over a number of days, he was recommended for, and subsequently awarded, the Military Cross.[6]

Following his return from Afghanistan, Beattie published the first of two books, An Ordinary Soldier,[7] which became an immediate best seller in the United Kingdom and propelled him into the public eye.. The Sunday Times said of the book: "... this compelling memoir of an army life… a riveting read…One of the strengths of the book is Beattie’s description of working with the Afghans." [8]

The Daily Mail said that "Of the battalion of courageous tales to emerge from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, this extraordinary account of an 'ordinary soldier' is one of the finest."

Beattie's follow-up book was Task Force Helmand which the Daily Telegraph described as thoughtful and compassionate.[9]

After retiring from the army, Beattie joined the Ulster Unionist Party[10] and was elected to Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council in the Portadown area during the 2014 council elections.

On Saturday 7 May 2016, he was elected as an MLA for the Upper Bann constituency.[11]

In advance of the 2017 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election Beattie was cited by commentators to be a possible contender to replace former leader Mike Nesbitt; however, in the end only Robin Swann ran, and was elected unopposed.[12][13]

In October 2019, after Robert Swann announced that he was standing down as leader of the party, Beattie ruled himself out of contention as the next leader and endorsed former Royal Navy commander Steve Aiken.[14]

On 14 November 2019, Beattie announced his candidacy as a Member of Parliament for Upper Bann (UK Parliament constituency), in the upcoming 2019 General Election. [15]