The man chosen by US president Barack Obama as his special envoy to try to bring peace to the Middle East was hailed tonight for his peace building in Northern Ireland.
President Mary McAleese led tributes to former senator George Mitchell, whom she described as the honest broker given “the most demanding job spec ever drafted” on the island of Ireland.
Senator Mitchell spent 10 years as Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, after securing the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, only standing down this year following his appointment by President Obama.
At the Summer Graduation Dinner at Queen’s this evening, President McAleese praised Mr Mitchell for his patience and persistence, for his unfailing serenity and good nature and for his investment in building peace the hard way — by persuasion, one person at a time.
She said: “By the time you arrived here in the mid-1990s many had died, more had emigrated and hope was in short supply.
“You became the honest broker with an alchemy that married the ability and the patience to master all sides of a complex history and story with a steely determination to make hard calls when they were needed.”
Mrs McAleese added: “You got the most demanding job spec ever drafted on this island and today, as peace visibly consolidates, no one is more deserving of thanks, praise and respect.
“Non one is also more deserving of a restful, quiet retirement - which is presumably why President Obama appointed you as his Special Envoy for the Middle East.”
She said Ireland’s best wishes and prayers went with him and his wife “for the sacrifices that you both keep on making in order to bring the gift of peace to those overwhelmed by conflict”.
Queen’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson said Mr Mitchell had been an inspirational figure for the university and the North.
Mr Mitchell said serving as Chancellor of Queen’s had offered him a great opportunity to contribute to Northern Ireland’s future within an institution that played a leadership role in its community and in the field of education.
PA