Good Friday Agreement architect Lord Trimble dies aged 77
Former Northern Ireland first minister David Trimble has died at the age of 77, following a short illness.
He was one of the principle architects of the Good Friday Agreement, which helped end decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Unionist Party announced his passing in a statement on behalf of the Trimble family.
The party said: “It is with great sadness that the family of Lord Trimble announce that he passed away peacefully earlier today following a short illness.”
The Co Down man enjoyed an extensive academic career in the law faculty at the Queen’s University Belfast before moving into politics.
He initially became involved in the unionist offshoot organisation Vanguard in the early 1970s.
Trimble went on to join the then dominant Ulster Unionist Party in 1978, leaving academia for politics full time when he was elected as MP for Upper Bann following a by election in 1990.
In 1995, he won the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party, starting his often turbulent time at the helm of the party.
His political career marked a number of firsts as Ulster Unionist leader.
This includes being the party’s first leader in 30 years to meet with the Irish premier in Dublin, and the first unionist leader since partition to negotiate with Sinn Fein in 1997.
Lord Trimble later jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize along with SDLP leader John Hume for his work on the peace deal.
He is survived by his wife Daphne and sons and daughters, Richard, Victoria, Nicholas and Sarah.