John Hume: Life in picturesPAJohn Hume (middle right) pictured in 1973 with three other founding members of the SDLP: Austin Currie, Gerry Fitt and Paddy DevlinPacemakerJohn Hume with his wife Pat after his election to the European Parliament in 1979PacemakerAs leader of the SDLP, John Hume helped create the climate that brought an end to violence in Northern Ireland.PacemakerSDLP leader John Hume, DUP leader Ian Paisley, UUP MP Martin Smyth and Alliance Party leader John Alderdice announce preliminary talks in 1991PacemakerDespite enormous criticism, John Hume always defended his decision to talk to Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams in order to build the peace process.PacemakerJohn Hume and Ian Paisley on Rathlin Island in 1992 when wind turbines were first installed to generate electricity for the islandPacemakerJohn Hume cultivated relationships with the White house and US Congress. Here he is with US Senator Edward Kennedy during a visit to Londonderry in 1998PacemakerJohn Hume pictured with David Trimble and Tony Blair in the lead up to the referendum on the Good Friday AgreementPacemakerJohn Hume held his seat in the European Parliament for 25 years. Here he is during the announcement of the results of the 1999 European election, in which he came a close second in the poll to Ian PaisleyPacemakerJohn Hume stood down as leader of the SDLP in 2001, and retired from politics in 2004Getty ImagesJohn Hume never lost the conviction that negotiations would in the end provide the solution. In 1998 he saw the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.PacemakerFormer US President Bill Clinton returned to Derry in 2010, 15 years after his first visit.PacemakerJohn Hume with Gerry Adams during a march in Derry before the release of the findings of the Saville Inquiry into Bloody SundayPacemakerJohn Hume, pictured at home in 2000, consistently opposed violence on all sides throughout the Troubles