Queen’s recognized Lord John Alderdice with an honorary degree during Monday morning’s Spring Convocation ceremony at Grant Hall for his peace efforts in Northern Ireland and around the world.

Baron Alderdice of Knock in the City of Belfast played a significant role in the development of the Irish peace process and the negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. He then stepped down as Alliance Leader and accepted an appointment as Speaker of the new Northern Ireland Assembly. He retired as Speaker and Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2004.

For many years, he served as a Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Lecturer in Psychotherapy at Queen’s University Belfast and established the Centre for Psychotherapy in Belfast. He continues as an active member of the House of Lords, but has stepped back from front-line party politics to focus on his academic and practical involvement in situations of violent political conflict.

A live feed of each Spring Convocation ceremony will begin approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each event. For a full schedule of the ceremonies, visit the website of the Office of the University Registrar.