John Hume, the architect of Northern Ireland’s 1998 Good Friday peace agreement who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in crafting a solution to the Troubles, passed away at the age of 83.

He was a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2001 and the Martin Luther King Award. Hume is the only person to receive the three major peace awards.

Hume was one of the high-profile politicians in Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1970 and led the party from 1979 until 2001. He was voted as “Ireland’s Greatest” in a public poll by RTE, Irish national broadcaster. 

Good Friday agreement

As leader of the SDLP, Hume was an important advocate of non-violence as fighting erupted between Irish nationalists who wanted a united Ireland and pro-British forces, including the British Army, who wanted to maintain the region’s British status. By 1998, over 3,600 had been killed.

Hume took part in pioneering talks with Gerry Adams, who was at the time the leader of the Sinn Fein party that was then the political wing of the guerrilla Irish Republican Army (IRA). The talks helped pave the way for a joint initiative by the British and Irish governments in 1993 that spawned a peace process and an IRA truce in 1994. It ultimately paved the way for the watershed Good Friday accord four years later.

Hume shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Northern Ireland’s then-first minister, David Trimble.

Gandhi Peace Prize 

Gandhi Peace Prize for social, economic and political transformation through non-violence was instituted by the Indian government in 1995. The award comprises an amount of Rs 1 crore and a citation.

This annual award is given to individuals, associations, institutions or organisations for working selflessly for peace, non-violence and amelioration of human sufferings particularly of the less-privileged section of society contributing towards social justice and harmony. 

The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. Normally, contributions made during ten years immediately preceding the nomination are considered. Older contributions may also be considered if their significance has not become apparent recently.

Julius K. Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, was the first winner in 1995.

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