John Hume, Northern Irish Catholic Leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Dies at 83

Former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader and MP for Foyle, John Hume, sits with a drink after announcing at a news conference in Belfast, on Feb. 4, 2004. Paul McErlane PM/MD/JV/Reuters

BELFAST—John Hume, a Roman Catholic architect of Northern Ireland’s Good Friday peace agreement who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending 30 years of sectarian violence, died on Monday at the age of 83, his SDLP party said.

Hume, who is credited with kick-starting peace negotiations in the British region, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 with Northern Ireland’s then first minister, David Trimble of the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party.