Adams, Gerard

Adams, Gerard ( Gerry) (b. 6 Oct. 1948). Republican politician in Northern Ireland Born and educated in Belfast, he worked as a bar manager, and joined the Republican movement in 1964. He was imprisoned twice (1971, 1978) on suspicion of being a leader of the IRA, but both times was released on grounds of insufficient evidence. He was successively elected to Parliament for Sinn Fein (1983–92), but never took up his seat in the House of Commons, since he objected in principle to British rule in Northern Ireland. He became President of the party in 1984. In 1988 and 1993, he held meetings with Hume to discuss proposals for talks on the future of Northern Ireland. He came to appreciate that, after conducting a terrorist campaign for more than 20 years, the IRA had not come closer to fulfilling its aim of a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland. After a flurry of secret negotiations with British government representatives, he persuaded the IRA to announce a ceasefire, in order to meet the British condition of a renunciation of violence before negotiations. In consequence, he acquired a pivotal role as a spokesman for the nationalist Catholic community—a role which was recognized on 17 March 1995, when he met US President Clinton in Washington. Following a breakdown of negotiations, the ceasefire was resumed in 1997, and a compromise was reached at the Good Friday Agreement. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, whereupon he became one of two Sinn Fein members of the Northern Ireland executive.