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One of America's pre-eminent political figures for three decades, Hillary Rodham Clinton has been present at, and helped shape, some key moments in modern history.

This week the former US secretary of state, presidential candidate and first lady travelled to Belfast to commemorate the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).

A feat of international diplomacy that ended 30 years of sectarian violence and brought peace on the island of Ireland, it was a seismic event for Ireland and Great Britain and a defining moment in her husband's presidency.

I used the first part of our sit-down interview to ask the 75-year-old stateswoman about her reflections of that "hand of history" moment.

"I feel privileged to have been a witness to history, starting with my first visit with my husband, then the first sitting president to come to Northern Ireland in 1995 all the way to today," Mrs Clinton tells me in our interview at Queen's University in Belfast, where she has been chancellor since 2020.

She has travelled to Belfast with the other leaders who helped secure the Agreement - Tony Blair, Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams, George Mitchell - to both reflect on what happened and think about, in her words, "what needs to continue to take place in order for Northern Ireland to have the best possible future".

Because while the Good Friday Agreement was hailed by former president Bill Clinton as a "work of genius" when it came to delivering peace, as politicians' mark its' 25th anniversary, there are obvious questions over whether it has delivered good government for the people of Northern Ireland.

For nine of the 25 years since the agreement was signed, Stormont has been shut down, with both unionists and nationalists consistently showing their willingness to collapse the Assembly when they don't get their own way.

Under the power-sharing arrangement enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, any government must have representatives from both the nationalist community - who favour unity with the Republic of Ireland - and unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK.

That idea is that both communities have a vested interest in the system, but it also means either side has the power to collapse the government, as the DUP have done over their discontent with post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said his unionist party will not nominate any ministers to an executive until its concerns are resolved by the UK government.

With a political system that keeps stalling, against the backdrop of a Northern Ireland that is less sectarian, there is an obvious question about whether the Good Friday Agreement might adapt to make it harder for politicians to bring down the institutions of power sharing.

Tony Blair thinks so. The former prime minister has argued that the GFA needs to "amend and adjust" in order to better reflect a changing, less sectarian Northern Ireland.

For Mrs Clinton, the "jury's is out" on whether the agreement needs adjustment, as she urged the unionists to restore power sharing on the back of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Windsor Agreement, designed to improve the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland.

"I do think [the GFA] was a work of genius to end the conflict and create the structure for self-governance within the appropriate relationship with the UK. And I think that it has worked, except when leaders decided it would no longer work for their own reasons," she told me.

"The question is whether leaders themselves, the current generation of leaders, can restore confidence in the ability of the people of Northern Ireland to elect a government that will then actually govern or whether there does, as former prime minister Blair said, have to be some adjustments within the agreement itself. I think the jury is out on that because right now we're all hoping that they will stand up.

"I think it's very much in [the DUP's] interest [to get back to Stormont]."

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But beyond the current crisis, there is a broader question on whether an arrangement that gives effective power to either unionists or nationalists and entrenches sectarianism is still fit for purpose a generation on from its inception.

The non-sectarian Alliance Party - the third-largest in Northern Ireland - says the Agreement needs to move towards a more conventional democratic model involving simpler majorities and coalitions. Does Mrs Clinton agree?

"I'm a little bit 'wait and see', because all of these decisions should be made by the people of Northern Ireland themselves," she said.

"I do think that, you know, the Alliance Party, as you say, which has now become the third most popular party in terms of the numbers elected for the assembly has an important role to play. But the first order of business and I would urge the UK government to make it the first order is to get the government going again."

An international politician careful not to wade into the domestic affairs of the people of Northern Ireland.

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But the Good Friday Agreement anniversary punctuated by the collapse of power sharing has undoubtedly put reform on the agenda at this special event in Belfast to commemorate not just the deal but how power sharing and peace in Northern Ireland evolves from here.

When it came to the politics of the US ahead of the 2024 presidential race, Mrs Clinton was far more forthright, telling me in our interview that Donald Trump cannot win in 2024.

"I think more people are on to him and his behaviour than they were before," she explained when I asked her what she thought about Mr Trump running for president while under criminal indictment.

"He has a hardcore of support that is likely to help him win the Republican nomination, but in a general election against President Biden, I do not believe he can win."

Mrs Clinton also told me that the age of the "showman" was over as she weighed in behind President Joe Biden in a dig at not just Mr Trump but former prime minister Boris Johnson too.

Praising President Biden's work on Ukraine, his handling of China and him pushing through big pieces of domestic legislation, the former presidential candidate said he should be judged on substance rather than style.

"We're living in a time when a lot of people expect their leaders to be performers, not producers," she said.

"And so is he a performer, as we think of maybe one of your prior prime ministers or one of our prior presidents? No, that's not who he is. And thank God for that, because look at what he's getting done."

And as for her adversary Donald Trump, how does Mrs Clinton feel about the prospect of the man who back in 2016 accused her of lawbreaking - remember the "lock her up" chant - now facing the possibility of ending up behind bars?

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"I always thought about him - and if you follow him, I think you can see this as well - he accuses people of doing things he himself is doing," she said. "It's a form of psychological projection. And I always thought that his record was someone who cared nothing about rules. He cares nothing about the laws."

A politician who suffered a crushing election defeat at the hands of an adversary that she believes has sown the seeds for his own downfall is no doubt satisfying for Mrs Clinton, who next year will have another ringside seat - and role - in an election of great consequence not just for the US but the rest of the world.

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For Hillary Clinton, 'jury is out' on whether Good Friday Agreement needs to be adjusted - Sky News

16 April 2023

Hillary Clinton is in Belfast for a series of events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement

Hillary Clinton has urged political parties in Northern Ireland to return to power sharing.

The former US Secretary of State is in Belfast for a conference marking 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement.

She addressed an audience at the Washington-Ireland Program headquarters in the city centre on Sunday.

There, she said the post-Brexit deal, the Windsor Framework, provides an economic boost that should not be missed.

Asked about the future of Northern Ireland, she said: "Part of what I hope happens is that people from every part of the political system here will decide that the government needs to get back into business."

She added: "Given the Windsor agreement, this is an opportunity unlike any for economic development growth, investment, business expansion - because Northern Ireland now has a unique and privileged position."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will pay tribute to the contribution young people have made to peace when he returns to Northern Ireland this week to take part in events to mark the 25th anniversary of the agreement.

Among those events will be a gala dinner to honour those who signed the 1998 deal and the "remarkable" young people continuing peace efforts.

Joe Biden met young people when he opened Ulster University's new Belfast campus last week

The PM visited Northern Ireland last week when he welcomed US President Joe Biden to Belfast.

Ahead of his forthcoming trip, Mr Sunak said he was due to meet some of the "leading architects" of the peace deal.

He will acknowledge their "courage, imagination and perseverance" when he gives the closing speech at a Queen's University Belfast conference about the agreement.

"It is a tribute to the 1998 agreement that we also see a younger generation of inspirational people across Northern Ireland today," Mr Sunak said on Sunday.

Image source, Niall Carson

Joe Kennedy III, US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, attended a service to mark the 25th anniversary of the agreement in Clonard Monastery on Sunday

On Sunday, political and Church leaders attended a service at Clonard Monastery in Belfast to mark the agreement anniversary.

Among them were Catholic Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, John McDowell.

The US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy III, was also in attendance, as were NIO minister Steve Baker and figures from across NI's political divide.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is hosting a conference marking the anniversary, featuring speeches and panel discussions from former and current political leaders over three days, beginning on Monday.

Speaking in Dublin on Sunday, the Tanaiste (Irish deputy PM) Michel Martin said the events could provide an impetus to restore devolved government at Stormont.

"I've met with all of the party leaders over the last year and, irrespective of their positions, they've all resolutely said that they want the institutions back up and running," said Mr Martin.

Former US Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, is in Belfast for the anniversary events.

On Sunday afternoon he attended a play about the 1998 agreement at the Lyric Theatre and received a standing ovation from the audience as he took his seat.

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Richard Croxford, the actor who plays Mr Mitchell in the play, titled Agreement, said before the performance that he felt "emotional and scared" about having to act in front of the man he was pretending to be.

"He is a phenomenal man. I have not got enough good things to say about him," he said.

Ryan Feeney from QUB said the Agreement 25 conference would mark "how far we've come" since the peace deal, as well as considering "how we look to the next 25 years".

Sir Tony Blair, who as UK prime minister in 1998 was one of the signatories to the deal, will also take part in events alongside former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern.

Image source, Charles McQuillan

Sir Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, pictured during an event in 2018 to the agreement's 20th anniversary, will speak at Queen's University Belfast this week

Mr Mitchell will open the QUB conference with an address on Monday and was "extremely excited" to do so, Mr Feeney said.

"We're over the moon that our former [university] chancellor and chair of the peace talks is coming here," he added.

"He was invited by President Biden to come [last week] on Air Force One but declined because he had made this commitment with Queen's."

Alistair Campbell, who was Mr Blair's official spokesperson in 1998, was also in the audience.

See more here:
Good Friday Agreement: Hillary Clinton urges NI parties to return to power sharing - BBC

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has listed shared education and housing as issues that should be top of our list of priorities, in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Clinton, who is Chancellor of Queens University Belfast, was awarding honorary degrees to the principals of St Marys High School Limavady and Limavady High School for their shared education initiative.

The schools, which are next door to each other, are establishing a new shared education campus that will be used by students from both schools.

As well as promoting cross-community education, the campus will boast a range of new and upgraded facilities for pupils.

Hillary Clinton, centre, meets Darren Mornin, right, principal of Limavady High School and Rita Moore, left, principal of St Marys, and pupils of both schools during a visit to Limavady (Niall Carson/PA)

Mrs Clinton said the work of sharing education and housing was not finished.

Because while we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement at Queens, and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues, she said.

The journey is by no means finished.

And the work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent.

A plaque unveiled by Hillary Clinton during her visit to Limavady High School, Co Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.

During her visit to the schools, Mrs Clinton unveiled two benches to commemorate their new campus, and met with the head boy and head girl from both schools, before visiting the woodworking classrooms at Limavady High School where she talked with pupils and viewed their projects.

The former first lady waved to the schoolchildren greeting her outside St Marys High School as she entered the neighbouring school to attend the honorary graduation ceremony.

In her speech at the ceremony, Mrs Clinton paid tribute to Ms Rita Moore and Mr Darren Mornin, the principles of the two schools in Limavady, and said the Good Friday Agreement would not have been reached without the work of teachers.

Story continues

Hillary Clinton waves to the crowd as she visits Limavady High School to preside over an honorary graduation ceremony (Niall Carson/PA)

I know how difficult it was to secure the Good Friday Agreement, how much work and sacrifice it took on all sides to bring about peace and how much effort has continued to go into implementing its tenets and building a new future, including a new government in Northern Ireland, she said.

There would not, however, be a Good Friday agreement if there had not been teachers, principals, community leaders, citizens who did so much of the work of building and maintaining progress.

Mrs Clinton also said that more should be done to ensure young people want to stay in Northern Ireland.

We know at Queens that 33% of school leavers in Northern Ireland leave to seek their futures elsewhere, she said.

The goal is to ensure that they can choose to remain here and follow their dreams.

Institutions like this shared campus help build a bulwark against sectarianism and divisiveness, help to create a Northern Ireland where students, parents, members of the community come together in pursuit of common purpose.

Queens Universitys mission is transformation of knowledge and learning of individuals and societies, of leaving its mark on history and the world and that is what todays honouree graduates have each achieved.

Theyve led the schools and this community through a great transformation.

Excerpt from:
Hillary Clinton: Shared education should be priority in Northern Ireland - Yahoo News UK

(JTA) Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have produced a documentary about a Holocaust survivor that will debut on PBS on Tuesday, timed to Yom Hashoah, or Israels Holocaust Remembrance Day.

How Saba Kept Singing tells the story of David Wisnia, a cantor who survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp for nearly three years, helped in part by his operatic singing voice, which entertained the Nazi guards.

The film also tells of how Wisnia, who grew up singing in his synagogues choir in Poland, struck up a relationship with an older woman named Helen Tzippi Spitzer during their time at Auschwitz. Her skills as a graphic artist allowed her to move between mens and womens quarters, and the two shared intimate moments as fellow inmates watched out for guards.

The two lost track of each other after surviving the experience and did not come in contact again until 2019, when they shared their account of their unimaginable memories, a PBS statement reads.

David Wisnia, who served congregations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, died at 94 in 2021, a year after traveling to the former camp to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its liberation, despite a series of injuries. His grandson Avi Wisnia, a musician, composed a musical tribute to his Saba, or grandfather, which is heard over the films closing credits.

The film was produced under the Clintons HiddenLight Productions company, which launched in 2020 and specializes in global content that in their words highlights the best of the human spirit and help our audiences see the world in new ways.

David Wisnias remarkable story of love in How Saba Kept Singing is inspiring and I hope you will find it as uplifting as I do, said Chelsea Clinton, who is listed as an executive producer, in a statement.

The pain and horror of the Holocaust must never be forgotten, added Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state.

The project was co-produced by Retro Report, a nonprofit that makes news documentaries.

Read more here:
Holocaust doc produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, to air on PBS - The Jerusalem Post

Secretary Hillary Clinton (second from the left) at the panel discussion following the screening of 'Lyra'

Kurtis ReidBelfast Telegraph

Bill and Hillary Clinton have attended a special screening of a documentary about the life of murdered journalist Lyra McKee.

The Clintons went along to the screening at Queens Film Theatre, which took place hours before its terrestrial debut on Channel 4 on Saturday.

Mrs Clinton also spoke on a panel about the film which included ex-Womens Coalition leader Monica McWilliams.

Lyra documents the life of the Belfast-born journalist who was killed when a bullet struck her in the head while observing disruption in the Creggan estate area in 2019. Police later blamed the New IRA for her murder.

The film includes voice recordings from Lyras own mobile, computer and dictaphone as well as video footage provided by her family.

Mr Clinton, who served as US President from 1993 to 2001, previously paid tribute to the journalist, tweeting he was heartbroken by her killing shortly after her death was announced.

"Heartbroken by the murder of Lyra McKee and the violence in Derry. The challenges in NI today are real--but we cannot let go of the last 21 years of hard-won peace and progress. This tragedy is a reminder of how much everyone has to lose if we do, he said in April 2019.

The Clintons arrived in Belfast on Friday ahead of a week of events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Lyra McKee is one of 25 women set to be honoured by Mrs Clinton next week during a ceremony at Queens University.

She joins Mo Mowlam in receiving a posthumous award for their dedication to the peace process.

Others set to be awarded include Dame Arlene Foster, Mary McAleese, Eileen Bell, Bairbre de Brn and Baroness Eileen Paisley.

Lyra will be available to stream on Channel 4 after its television debut on Saturday.

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Bill and Hillary Clinton attend screening of 'Lyra' documentary at ... - Belfast Telegraph