The Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent Northern Ireland politician John Hume has died aged 83.
He died in a Londonderry nursing home following a long period of illness.
One of the highest-profile politicians in Northern Ireland for more than 30 years, he helped create the climate that brought an end to the Troubles.
He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1970 and led the party from 1979 until 2001.
Hume played a major role in the peace talks, which led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
He was widely admired for his steadfast commitment to peaceful, democratic politics during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
Tributes have been paid by political leaders past and present, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was in office when the peace deal was signed.
Mr Blair said he was “a visionary who refused to believe the future had to be the same as the past”.
“His contribution to peace in Northern Ireland was epic and he will rightly be remembered for it,” he said.
“He was insistent it was possible, tireless in pursuit of it and endlessly creative in seeking ways of making it happen.”
Former US President Bill Clinton said Mr Hume “fought his long war for peace in Northern Ireland”
“His chosen weapons: an unshakeable commitment to nonviolence, persistence, kindness and love,” he said.
“With his enduring sense of honour, he kept marching on against all odds towards a brighter future for all the children of Northern Ireland.
“I’ll never forget our night in Derry in 1995, with the town square and blocks around full of hopeful faces, walking with him across the Peace Bridge nearly 20 years later, and all of the moments we shared in between.”
‘Provided a compass’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Northern Ireland had “lost a great man who did so much to help bring an end to the Troubles and build a better future for all”.
He said Hume’s vision “paved the way for the stability, positivity and dynamism of the Northern Ireland of today”.
(BBC)