State Department spokesperson Ned Price expressed condolence on behalf of the United States regarding the recent passing of Lord David Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland.
Price highlighted Lord Trimble's successful political career, according to a July 26 statement released by the Department.
“The United States is saddened to learn of the passing of the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Lord David Trimble,” Price said, according to the statement. “Lord Trimble personified the integrity and compromise necessary to help Northern Ireland transcend its violent past.”
Trimble, 77, was Northern Ireland's inaugural first minister, according to The Guardian. The article reported Trimble's death was announced July 25, by the Ulster Unionist Party, with which he was associated. Trimble led the party into a power-sharing agreement with nationalists and republicans in Northern Ireland. The Guardian reported Trimble won the Nobel Peace Prize, along with John Hume, for their role in the negotiations in the Good Friday agreement.
“His tenacity during early political negotiations underpinned the strength of his convictions as well as his deep commitment to work across the sectarian divide,” Price said in his statement. “As a strong advocate of power-sharing and a key architect of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, his political legacy is the stability and prosperity that the region enjoys today. Our condolences are with his family during this time.”
Born in Belfast in 1944, Trimble went on to attend school at Queen's University, according to The Guardian. He became involved in politics in the 1970s and was originally involved with the Vanguard party, which The Guardian described as an “extreme unionist grouping.” In 1978, he joined the Ulster Unionist Party and was elected as MP at Westminster for Upper Bann May 17, 1990.
