Profile: Dr Edward Haughey:Dr Edward Haughey is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Northern Ireland. His fortune, estimated at about £350 million, has been built largely on Norbrook Laboratories, the pharmaceuticals business he established in 1969.
Norbrook was founded by Dr Haughey to manufacture veterinary medicines on his return from the United States, where he had been working in the sector. From a one-man start-up operation, Dr Haughey has built the company into an industry leader. The group employs about 1,000 people in Northern Ireland and has operations worldwide.
Dr Haughey (62) is the first person to have sat in both the Seanad and the British House of Lords. He was closely connected to the Fianna Fáil-led Albert Reynolds government of the early 1990s and was appointed as the first chairman of the newly-established Irish Aviation Authority in 1993.
In December 1994, as he was leaving office, Mr Reynolds appointed him to the Seanad as a Fianna Fáil senator. In 1997, he was reappointed by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
He attended the Seanad infrequently, on average about once a year, and spoke rarely, and only on Northern Ireland matters. He took the Fianna Fáil whip in the upper house however.
His statements on Northern Ireland were nationalist in colour, including criticisms of the Orange Order. He also adopted what some saw as a pragmatic approach to the issue of decommissioning and served as a member of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation.
Unusually for a Fianna Fáil senator, he appeared to be a supporter of the Conservative party in Britain, and his companies donated more than €1.5 million to the party in 2000 and 2001.
In a surprise move two years ago, the Ulster Unionists nominated him to the House of Lords, where he took the title of Lord Ballyedmond of Mourne, the location of his impressive Co Down estate. At the time unionist sources said he had been very helpful to the party in the run-up to the Belfast Agreement, facilitating some meetings with other individuals.
Lord Ballyedmond has also been involved in a number of civil court cases in the last 20 years, and has taken libel actions against various newspapers.
He has also been embroiled in a number of planning rows, the latest an unsuccessful attempt to block the construction of a pipeline across his lands at Dungooley, Co Louth.
Aside from his personal businesses, Dr Haughey is also a director of Shorts Bombardier Aerospace and has previously served on the advisory board of Bank of Ireland.
The register of interests of members of the House of Lords also lists Dr Haughey as honorary counsel for Chile in Northern Ireland.
He owns Haughey Air companies, through which he acquired Carlisle airport in 2001. He sold the airport earlier this year after failing to reach agreement on its redevelopment.
Dr Haughey spends much of his time in Cumbria where he has a 1,000-acre estate. His property portfolio also includes a home in Dublin's Fitzwilliam Square.