Former leader of Northern Ireland's SDLP party and a central figure in the politics of the province since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. The Good Friday Agreement was largely based on the conflict resolution proposals he had been espousing for decades. He has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with David Trimble) and the Martin Luther King Peace Prize, among others.
On Monday, September 17, 2001, John Hume announced his intention to resign as leader of the SDLP, citing health reasons. He intends to continue serving as an MP at Westminster and an MEP at Strasbourg, but he resigned his seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2000.