History Opens Itself to Hope
Much attention has been on Ireland last week and this week. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement. The agreement among Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK effectively ended the decades-long ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles and launched an ongoing period of peace, trade, and prosperity among the three parties and the EU. Additionally, it enabled the launch of three decades of investment in Ireland and Northern Ireland, including by 美国道富银行 .
President Biden traveled last week to Northern Ireland and throughout the Republic of Ireland. This week, an extraordinary group of former and current world leaders, scholars, and community leaders celebrated the agreement and focused on the past, present, and future of Northern Ireland.?Among the leaders on hand were Bill and Hillary Clinton, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, and former Ireland prime minister Bertie Ahearn, and many others. Though many present could claim an important role in this peace, all would agree that the agreement would not have occurred without the tireless leadership of George Mitchell.?
Senator Mitchell was appointed special trade negotiator to Northern Ireland by President Clinton in 1995. A skilled legislative and diplomatic leader, Mitchell quickly took on the role of chief negotiator and mediator. His relentless focus overcame centuries of violence and political ill will that resulted in the 1998 agreement. Despite being 89 and fighting an acute illness, Senator Mitchell returned to his beloved Northern Ireland and delivered what all universally praise a speech for the ages (a link to his speech can be found here).
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I commend Senator Mitchell’s speech to anybody who questions how we solve big problems. He details the hard work required to bring the seemingly impossible?to fruition, describes how political courage and vision are needed to find “workable answers to the daily problems of the present” even if “the answer is not perfection” and “history itself is never finished.” The idea that “history continues to open itself to hope” is a lesson that can be applied to many of the seemingly intractable problems of our day.
We learn from history how extraordinary statesmen and stateswomen arrive on the scene, make a difference, and change the arc of history away from something bad, to something good and better. This week, we were fortunate to have one of those extraordinary historic persons speak to us in the present.?
Partner at Newport LLC
1 年With two family farms and a cousin's livestock business located a short distance from the border I am most grateful for Senator Mitchell's perseverance and skill. Thank you for posting this.
President - Manufacturing at Tata Consultancy Services
1 年Thank you Ronald O'Hanley for sharing your perspective. We at Tata Consultancy Services also have invested significantly in our Global Development Center at Letterkenny and are delighted with the quality of experience our colleagues providing to multiple global as well as local customers from the center.
Compliance Officer
1 年Thanks Ron, for this valuable history lesson.
Financial Services Executive | Public and Private Board Member | Consultant | Expert Witness
1 年We surely need a dose of this kind of leadership in the US right now!
Senior Managing Director & Country Head - India at State Street Global Advisors
1 年Thank you Ron for your thoughts on this historic day. There are a lot of takeaways in this highly inspiring speech by Senator Mitchell. “We don’t need to love one another. We don’t even need to like one another, although we hope we could. But we must learn to understand one another, and to be able to say “yes” to one another, especially when the quicker and easier answer is answer “no”. Because, like it or not, we are all in this together. Facing the reality of the future, rather than clinging to the myths of the past, takes strength and courage and vision.”