October 6, 1948

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Leader of Sinn Féin

"When with the advantage of distance the history is written of Ireland in the years in which I have lived, I know that an Everest amongst the mountains of traumatic events the Irish people have experienced will be the republican hunger strikes of 1980–1981."

Gerry Adams, long accused of being a terrorist and a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), is most often credited with guiding one side of Northern Ireland's warring communities of Catholics and Protestants to give up arms in favor of a peaceful political solution to their long-standing differences.

Tall and thin, Adams is usually seen wearing glasses, Irish tweeds, and a bulletproof vest, a constant reminder that violence is never long absent from the bitter political quarrels of Northern Ireland.

Adams's official role is as the leader of...