Mr Robert Saulters was re-elected unanimously as Grand Master of the Orange Order yesterday. Mr Saulters was re-elected for a fourth term at a meeting of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland in Belfast attended by 200 Orangemen from the North and the Republic's Border counties. Mr Saulters said he looked forward to leading the Orange Institution into the next millennium.
The lodge delegates discussed its parades strategy, particularly in relation to the continuing impasse over the Drumcree march in Portadown. The order also considered its continued link with the Ulster Unionist Party, which has been in place since the formation of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1895. Draft proposals from the Ulster Unionist Council suggest breaking the link.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland expressed its "revulsion and total opposition" to the appointment of Sinn Fein's Mr Martin McGuinness as Minister of Education in the Executive. A statement said: "We believe that the moral and lawful implications of accepting as overseer of our children's education a man who has been involved in serious criminal activity are far-reaching, detrimental to sound Christian principles and the good governance of Northern Ireland."
The Grand Orange Lodge said it would not countenance any contact with the new Minister.