Editing David Trimble (section)

==Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party==
[[File:President Bill Clinton with David Trimble.jpg|thumb|Trimble with US president [[Bill Clinton]] in Belfast, 1995]]

On 8 September 1995, Trimble unexpectedly [[September 1995 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election|won election as leader of the UUP]], defeating the front-runner [[John Taylor, Baron Kilclooney|John Taylor]] and three other candidates.<ref name="google3" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/09/world/world-news-briefs-ulster-protestant-party-names-a-hard-liner.html |title=Ulster Protestant Party Names a Hard-Liner |work=The New York Times |date=9 September 1995 |access-date=29 June 2010 |archive-date=27 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327134635/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/09/world/world-news-briefs-ulster-protestant-party-names-a-hard-liner.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Trimble's election as Leader came in the aftermath of his role in the [[Drumcree conflict]], in which he led a controversial 1995 [[Orange Institution|Orange Order]] Protestant march, amidst Nationalist protest, down the predominantly [[Catholic Church in Ireland|Catholic]] [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] Garvaghy Road in [[Portadown]], County Armagh.<ref name="google4"/><ref name="google3" /> Trimble and [[Democratic Unionist Party]] (DUP) leader [[Ian Paisley]] walked hand-in-hand as the march, banned since 1997, proceeded down the road.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1420000/video/_1424111_ireland_murray_jul95_vi.ram |title=Drumcree Parade 1995 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603005337/http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1420000/video/_1424111_ireland_murray_jul95_vi.ram |archive-date=3 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many [[Irish Catholics]] viewed it as insensitive, while many Protestants felt that it was a sign that Trimble was defending them.<ref name="google3" />

Shortly after the election, Trimble became the first UUP Leader in 30 years (since [[Terence O'Neill]]) to meet with the [[Taoiseach]] in Dublin.<ref name="google3"/> In 1997, he became the first unionist leader since the [[partition of Ireland]] in 1921 to agree to negotiate with [[Sinn Féin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A4MfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6959,3294826&dq=david-trimble&hl=en |title=Key Ulster Protestant agrees to join talks with Sinn Fein |work=Tuscaloosa News |via=Google News Archive |first=James F. |last=Clarity |date=18 September 1997 |access-date=31 March 2020 |archive-date=16 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616194240/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A4MfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6959,3294826&dq=david-trimble&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the subsequent All-Party negotiations, Trimble led the UUP delegation and sat at the table with Sinn Féin, though in the eight months of the negotiations he never spoke directly to their leader, [[Gerry Adams]].<ref name="google4"/><ref name="nobelprize1998"/> Trimble at first opposed the appointment of former US Senator [[George J. Mitchell|George Mitchell]] as the chairman of the all-party talks, but eventually accepted him.<ref name="Telegraph obit" /> The talks were successful, culminating in the [[Good Friday Agreement]] of 10 April 1998, which resulted in power-sharing with Nationalists.<ref name="warwicklawsociety2004"/><ref name="nobelprize1998"/> Trimble was subsequently seen as instrumental in getting his party to accept the accord.<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1399874/Key-players.html |title=Key players |work=The Telegraph|location=London |date=25 October 2001 |access-date=30 June 2010 |archive-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113204831/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1399874/Key-players.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 May 1998, [[1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum|voters in Northern Ireland approved the agreement]], with 71 per cent in favour.<ref name="nobelprize1998"/>

Trimble was appointed to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] in the [[1998 New Year Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=54993 |supp=y|page=1|date=30 December 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/for_christmas/_new_year/new_year_honours/43509.stm |title=Life Peers to Order of the Companion of Honour |work=BBC News |date=31 December 1997 |access-date=28 June 2010 |archive-date=30 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230064138/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/for_christmas/_new_year/new_year_honours/43509.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>