A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, First Edition
The Good Friday Agreement, formally known as the Belfast Agreement, is the 1998 peace agreement for Northern Ireland. This 65-page document paved the way for the return of a devolved government to the province in 1999. The Northern Ireland Assembly was set up alongside a north-south ministerial council, a British-Irish council and a British-Irish intergovernmental conference.
In addition to these formal institutions, other measures were introduced to address the concerns of the major political parties: Unionists were offered the repeal of the Irish Republic’s constitutional claim to Northern Ireland; Nationalists were offered a new commission on policing, which led to the reform of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, replacing it with the Police Service of Northern Ireland in November 2001, and a human rights commission.
The consensual and inclusive approach of the Good Friday Agreement was reflected in the results of the 1998 referendums held to endorse the agreement. Most political parties in Northern Ireland supported the agreement and 71% of the population voted in favour of it. In the Republic of Ireland 94% of the population endorsed the agreement. David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party and John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party won the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts they had made to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
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