DJohn Hume, a Northern Irish politician and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has died. Hume died Monday at the age of 83. Hume was one of the political leaders of his country. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1998 along with David Trimble for his peaceful efforts to resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that John died this morning due to a minor illness,” the family said.

For years, Hume was chairman of the Catholic Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP), and campaigned for the peaceful reorganization of Ireland. He participated in the negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement with the Conservative David Trimble of the Unionist Ulster Unionist Party (UP). Northern Ireland survived the bloody struggle for decades.

In the struggle, the unification of the two parts of Ireland was confronted by a majority of Catholics, mainly Protestant Great Britain loyalists. 3,700 were killed and more than 50,000 were injured.