Good Friday Agreement architect David Trimble dies at 77

Trimble was the first minister of Northern Ireland in the power-sharing government created by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. This agreement was a major architect of the peace that ended nearly three decades of bloodshed.

His family stated that he died peacefully after a brief illness.

"Time and again during the negotiations, he made the difficult choices over the politically expedient because he believed that future generations deserve to grow up without violence and hatred," ex-President Bill Clinton stated in a statement. He described Trimble as a leader with courage, vision, and principle.

John Hume, an Irish nationalist, and Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel prize for 1998. They helped end violence that had claimed the lives of 3,600 people between Catholic nationalists who sought unity in Ireland and pro-British Catholics who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom.

Micheal Martin, the Irish Prime Minister, stated that Trimble's Nobel speech to the "politicians possible" summarised the Northern Irishman’s accomplishments over many decades and difficult circumstances that culminated with the "crucial" and "courageous" role he played during the peace negotiations.

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, said that he was "a giant of British and International politics" and praised his fierce determination to improve politics and for championing democracy over violence.

Trimble was a trained barrister and preferred academia over the courtroom. His first foray into Northern Irish politics was in 1974 when he became a hardline politician. He helped to defeat early attempts at power-sharing, in an agreement that preceded the 1998 accord.

He joined the mainstream Ulster Unionist Party during the late 1970s, and eventually dragged his party into the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. He was viewed as a traitor by many Protestants for his actions.

Gerry Adams, ex-leader of Sinn Fein, whose party was the political wing the Irish Republican Army, (IRA), was blamed for half the deaths in the conflict. Trimble's contribution "cannot be underestimated"

David faced enormous challenges as he led the Ulster Unionist Party during the Good Friday Agreement negotiations. He persuaded his party, however, to accept it. He supported the Agreement, which is a credit to him. "I thank him for this," Trimble's ex-political foe stated in a statement.

Others referred to the political cost Trimble and his party paid in election defeats by hardline unionists. Trimble, who was UUP leader, resigned in 2005 and assumed a life peerage at the House of Lords in Britain a year later. He sat there until his death.

He supported Britain's decision not to join the European Union, and was vocally against the post-Brexit trade restrictions between Northern Ireland (and the rest of the UK) that have caused a new wedge between unionist and nationalist politicians.

Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, stated that those who followed Trimble have a shared responsibility for continuing to build upon the society he created.

Tony Blair, a former British Prime Minister, said that Blair's contribution to the peace process was "immeasurable, indelible, and quite frankly irreplaceable".

"We have lost today a friend and foe who will be deeply missed by all."

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