John Hume

John Hume was born January 18, 1937, in Derry, Ireland. After working as a teacher and civil rights activist, he entered politics and was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland from 1979 to 2001. He served in the British Parliament from 1983 and the European Parliament from 1979; he was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998–2000. For his work in bringing about a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland, in 1998 he and David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.