What is David Cook (Northern Ireland politician)?
'''David Somerville Cook''' (January 1944 – 19 September 2020) was a [[Northern Ireland|Northern Irish]] politician. He was a member of the [[Alliance Party of Northern Ireland]] (APNI), which he helped found.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/article1022796.ece|title=Cook raps 'mean spirited unionism'|work=[[Belfast Telegraph]]|date=11 February 1997|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> He was elected to [[Belfast City Council]] in 1973 and left office in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgbelfast.htm|title=The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Belfast|publisher=Ark.ac.uk|access-date=3 June 2016|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401081813/https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgbelfast.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> From 1982 to 1986, he was a member of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]]. In 1978, he became the first non-Unionist [[Lord Mayor of Belfast]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch78.htm|title=A Chronology of the Conflict-1978|publisher=Cain.ulst.ac.uk|access-date=3 June 2016|archive-date=27 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827165111/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch78.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> He ran multiple times to become a [[member of parliament]], but never won an election. On 20 September 2020 it was announced that Cook had died after being diagnosed with [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54226208|title=David Cook: Former Belfast Lord Mayor dies with Covid-19|work=[[BBC News]]|date=20 September 2020 |access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref> He died on 19 September 2020 at a [[Craigavon]] hospital, aged 76.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/tributes-paid-to-founding-member-of-alliance-party-and-former-lord-mayor-of-belfast-david-cook-following-death-from-covid-19-39546040.html|title=Tributes paid to founding member of Alliance Party and former Lord Mayor of Belfast Dav