Cameron pays tribute to Belfast Agreement architects

British prime minister David Cameron said the Belfast Agreement represented a massive step forward from what has gone before, a clear manifestation that politics and democracy would triumph over violence. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA Wire

The British prime minister has paid tribute to the architects of the Belfast Agreement in Northern Ireland on its 15th anniversary.

David Cameron said the 1998 political accord, which brought about devolved governance from Stormont after the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries declared ceasefires, heralded a new beginning after decades of division and terrorism.

He warned more remained to be done to build a new Northern Ireland.

It represented a massive step forward from what has gone before, a clear manifestation that politics and democracy would triumph over violence, he said, for that the architects of the agreement, and those who displayed remarkable political courage in pushing it forward, deserve our thanks.

The agreement was reached after nearly two years of talks and 30 years of conflict.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and former British prime minister Tony Blair brokered the deal, known by many unionists as the Belfast Agreement, on April 10th, 1998, following a talks process chaired by former US Senator George Mitchell.

Codifying relations

The document codified relations within Northern Ireland and with the Republic of Ireland and other parts of the UK. It led to a powersharing government at Stormont and was endorsed by a majority of people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

There was a lengthy interruption to the Stormont Assembly over alleged Provisional IRA intelligence gathering which ended in 2007, with Sinn Fin and the DUP elected the largest parties.

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Cameron pays tribute to Belfast Agreement architects