‘An apostle of nonviolence’: International papers react to John Hume’s death

John Hume has been described as “an apostle of nonviolence”, a “committed European” and a “giant of peace” in international media.

Mr Hume, who was 83, died on Monday morning in a Derry nursing home following a long period of illness.

The Washington Post on Tuesday described him as "an apostle of nonviolence who led Northern Ireland's largest Catholic political party and helped quell three decades of bloodshed in the British province".

In The New York Times, reporter Alan Cowell says Mr Hume "rose from hardscrabble beginnings to become the longtime leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and a towering figure in the grinding and oft-thwarted drive to end 25 years of The Troubles".

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French paper Le Monde describes Mr Hume as "a giant of peace, a Catholic nationalist who worked tirelessly in Northern Ireland to silence the guns for the four decades of his career in politics".

Mr Hume is photographed on the front page of both the Guardian and the Financial Times in the UK, described as a “titan and a visionary” in the Guardian and a “voice of peace” in the Financial Times.

The Guardian obituary notes "over almost 30 turbulent years he decisively influenced the way that successive British and Irish administrations handled their common Northern Ireland problem and monitored their efforts to quell the civil disorder and political deadlock".

Arthur Beesley writes in the Financial Times that Mr Hume "rejected violence as the relentless cycle of killings threatened to spill over into civil war" and "played a pivotal role in coaxing the outlawed Irish Republican Army to stop its militant campaign to force Britain from Northern Ireland".

Mr Hume is photographed on the front page of all national papers in Ireland on Tuesday, described as a “giant of peace,” a “patriot” and a “hero”.