Ian Anderson was born and raised in Glencross, a townland on the north-western outskirts of Rathmullan, a small town in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, in 1925.
[1][2] He left school at the age of 13 and joined the Belfast Technical College before moving to the Isle of Man in 1946.
In 1982 he was elevated to the Legislative Council and remained a member until retiring from Tynwald in 1993.
He served until 1990 when the constitution was altered and Sir Charles Kerruish became ex officio President.
Ian Anderson also held many Ministerial-level appointments during his career.