From relatively humble beginnings in the Shore Road area of north Belfast, John Steele rose to become the highest ranking Ulsterman in the Northern Ireland Office, the highest ranked part-time army reserve officer in Northern Ireland and a Deputy Lieutenant for the city of Belfast.
As a senior civil servant in the 1990s he played a central role in the crafting of the Good Friday Agreement, being a trusted adviser to Mo Mowlam and the only person from Northern Ireland in an inner government circle including Tony Blair.
As the top security official during that period, he also took charge of the operation to prevent the Orange Order marching down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown during the Drumcree dispute, a battle the army officer ultimately won.
Born in 1938, John was educated at Belfast High School and Queen’s University, Belfast, where he graduated with a degree in economics before embarking upon a career in public administration.
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He began working in various posts in Belfast City Council. In 1962 he transferred to the civil service, where he rose to senior levels. On the way he joined the staff of Stormont as an assistant clerk and he was one of the last surviving people to serve the old Northern Ireland parliament, which was prorogued by Edward Heath’s Conservative government in 1972 in the wake of rising violence and unrest.
Clearly by this time John Steele was being groomed for advancement. The role of the clerks at the old Stormont was not just to record the decisions of the House, but to be available to the chair, ministers, whips and members for consultation on any matter that might arise in the conduct of a sitting.
As a senior civil servant in the 1990s he played a central role in the crafting of the Good Friday Agreement, being a trusted adviser to Mo Mowlam and the only person from Northern Ireland in an inner government circle including Tony Blair
As an aside, the clerks had to wear dark suits, black gowns and white bow ties. Almost to the end John was proud of his ability to tie a bow tie fast without looking in a mirror, viewing the clip-on bows of contemporaries with feigned contempt.
In 1974 he was co-secretary of the Gardiner Report on ‘measures to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland’ and the following year became an assistant clerk to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, a forlorn attempt to re-establish a power-sharing administration in the wake of its collapse after the Ulster Workers Council strike.
Senior appointments followed in the Department of the Environment and Department of Health and Social Services until he became director of the Northern Ireland Court Service in 1982.
In 1987 John became Controller of Prisons within the Northern Ireland Office. Finally he was appointed senior director in Belfast for the NIO and director of policing and security, from which posts he retired.
Outside government service, John Steele served in what was then known as the Territorial Army and rose to command the 102 (Ulster and Scottish) Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery (Volunteers). He held the Territorial Decoration with two bars and OBE Military Division. He served as chairman of the Royal Artillery Council of Northern Ireland and President of the Northern Ireland Royal Artillery Association.
He was also a Deputy Lieutenant for Belfast and made Companion of the Order of the Bath.
In retirement he took up fly fishing, particularly relishing doing so in the west of Ireland.
John Martin Steele, who died on March 22 after a long illness, is survived by his second wife Norma, his first wife, Molly, having died in 1988. He is also survived by his son Patrick and daughter Barbara (his daughter Philippa died some years ago), along with eight grandchildren and three great-grandsons.