Gerry Adams, 1998 News

respected former U.S. senator, helped Northern Ireland reach an historic peace agreement after serving as moderator in 22 months of talks. Although he was considered a bland politician, as a mediator he blossomed. Key figures in the talks in Northern Ireland included David Trimble, Protestant leader of the Ulster Unionists and a Nobel Peace Prize winner; John Hume, Trimble's co-Nobel winner and leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party (the moderate Catholic party in Northern Ireland); Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army; as well as Irish and British political leaders. The Good Friday Accord, which won enough support to pass the people's vote on May 22, called for the creation of a new assembly in which Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland will share power. Ties to the Irish Republic are to be strengthened in a new north-south council, as well.