David Trimble

David Trimble

William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC (born 15 October 1944, in Belfast) is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP; 1995–2005), was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland (1998–2002), and was a Member of the British Parliament (1990–2005). He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party. Trimble was awarded the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, along with John Hume.

While a professor of law at Queen's University Belfast, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention. He served as Member of Parliament for Upper Bann from 1990 until 2005. He resigned the leadership of the UUP soon afterwards. In June 2006, he became a member of the House of Lords, taking the title of Baron Trimble of Lisnagarvey in the County of Antrim. In April 2007 he left the UUP to join the Conservative Party.

In June 2010, the Israeli government appointed Lord Trimble to be one of two international observers serving on an Israeli commission of inquiry looking into the events surrounding an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara, along with Canadian former Judge Advocate General Ken Watkin. The panel concluded that both Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and the interception of the flotilla "were found to be legally pursuant to the rules of international law".