George Dunbar was the first Mayor of Belfast under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1841.

Born on 3 January 1799, Dunbar was the only son of Alexander Orr of Landmore, Co. Londonderry. He adopted his mother’s maiden surname after inheriting a landed estate at Woburn (near Lisburn) from his maternal uncle, John Gilmore Dunbar.

George Dunbar was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for Co. Antrim and a magistrate for county Down. He served as an MP for the Conservative party, representing Belfast from 1835 to 1837, and from 1838 to 1841. In 1844, he married Harriet Susan Isabella Beresford, daughter of George, First Marquis of Waterford. The couple had one son, John Dunbar, born 1848.

Dunbar belonged to the Church of Ireland and was involved in church fundraising and charitable projects. He died on 12 August 1875 and was buried at Carrowdore Church of Ireland, Co. Down.