Major Robert Alan McFarland (born 9 August 1949 in Plumbridge, County Tyrone[1]) is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 1998 to 2011.

[citation needed] He retired from the Army in 1992 with the rank of major and became a Parliamentary Assistant to James Molyneaux MP and the Rev.

In 1995, he was selected by the Ulster Unionists to contest the North Down by-election over the favourite for the nomination, Sir Reg Empey, but was beaten in the election by Robert McCartney.

In 1996, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue for North Down and was involved in the talks process that resulted in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

Following the resignation of David Trimble as UUP leader in 2005 he stood as a candidate in the contest to succeed him and was narrowly beaten by Sir Reg Empey.