McGuinness, Martin (1950-2017), was a political leader in Northern Ireland. He was the chief negotiator of Sinn Féin, an Irish nationalist political party that has sought the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. The party is the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary organization (military organization not sponsored by the government) that has waged a campaign of violence against the British government in Northern Ireland. In March 2007, Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party—a party that has sought to maintain Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom—agreed to work together in a coalition in the Northern Ireland Assembly. McGuinness served as the coalition’s deputy first minister from May 2007 until January 2017, when he also stepped down as leader of Sinn Féin.
James Martin McGuinness was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on May 23, 1950. The conflict between Irish nationalists and British unionists in Northern Ireland erupted in the late 1960’s and lasted until the late 1990’s. McGuinness joined Sinn Féin in the early 1970’s and became a prominent member of the IRA.
In the 1990’s, McGuinness became Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator in talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement, a political settlement in 1998 aimed at bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Along with Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, McGuinness was instrumental in persuading the IRA to abandon violence and to pursue its goals by peaceful means. In 1997, McGuinness became a member of the British Parliament as a representative for Northern Ireland’s Mid-Ulster constituency (voting district). In 1998, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, also for Mid-Ulster. McGuinness was Northern Ireland’s minister for education from 1999 to 2002. In 2002, the British government suspended the Northern Ireland Assembly due to the slow progress of the IRA’s disarmament.
In the aftermath of the suspension, McGuinness played a leading role in the peace talks between Irish nationalists and British unionists in an effort to restore the Assembly, which resumed meeting in 2006. McGuinness also has represented Sinn Féin in discussions with political leaders in Europe and in the United States. He played a key role in persuading the IRA to end its armed campaign and to destroy its weapons in 2005. McGuinness died on March 21, 2017.
See also Irish Republican Army (IRA) ; Northern Ireland (The Good Friday Agreement) ; Sinn Féin .
