A Conversation with Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, Bertie Ahern
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to present:
Reflections on Northern Ireland’s Peace Process:
A Conversation with Former Taoiseach
(Prime Minister) of Ireland
Bertie Ahern
Join us for a discussion on the Northern Ireland peace process and broader negotiation lessons.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
9:30 – 11:00 AM
Austin Hall North
Harvard Law School Campus
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments.
Moderated by:
James Sebenius
Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Vice-Chair of Practice-Focused Research, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
Panelists:
Mari Fitzduff
Professor and Director, International Master of Arts Program in Coexistence and Conflict
Brandeis University
Hugh O’Doherty
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Daniel Shapiro
Founder and Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program
Associate Professor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital
About Bertie Ahern:
Bertie Ahern led three Irish governments, serving as Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) from 1997 to 2008. He became the youngest person to have occupied the post up to that time. Ahern enjoyed phenomenal electoral support in Ireland. He was the first Taoiseach since 1944 to win three successive General Elections.
Ahern played a major role in securing peace in Ireland, participating in the negotiation and signing of the Good Friday Agreement, called the Belfast Agreement in 1998, which established an “exclusively peaceful and democratic” framework for power-sharing in Northern Ireland and helping negotiate the return of devolution to Northern Ireland in 2007. The Agreement was endorsed by political parties, by the British and Irish governments, and by the people of the Republic and Northern Ireland.
On the international stage, Ahern was a respected figure who enjoyed an acclaimed Presidency of the European Council in 2004. He presided over the completion of the largest ever expansion of the EU and concluded negotiations on a European constitution. He is one of only five visiting statesmen to have addressed both the United States Congress and the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
Since leaving Government in 2008, Ahern has dedicated his time to Conflict Resolution and is actively involved with many groups around the world.
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