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.
Mr 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.”
BBC/
