FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 17, 1998

Irish Peace Activist John Hume to Speak at Peace Corps Headquarters on St. Patrick's Day

Washington, D.C., March 17, 1998—John Hume, a leading advocate for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland, will deliver the second Loret Miller Ruppe Memorial Lecture today at 10:30 a.m. at Peace Corps headquarters.
Hume, a member of the British Parliament from Northern Ireland, is the recipient of numerous human rights awards. Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan said Hume\'s dedication to the cause of peace in his country makes him an excellent speaker for the second Ruppe Lecture, particularly on St. Patrick\'s Day.
"John Hume has devoted his life to the cause of bringing peace to Northern Ireland, and toward building new relationships between all traditions in Ireland," said Gearan. "He is dedicated to a non-violent resolution to the problems in Northern Ireland, and he plays a principal role in the ongoing peace process."
Hume\'s speech is entitled: "Peacemaking in Northern Ireland." It will begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday on the seventh floor of Peace Corps headquarters, 1990 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
This is the second Ruppe Lecture, named after Loret Miller Ruppe, the longest-serving director of the Peace Corps who died in 1996. The series is designed to advance discussion about policy questions that confront the United States at home and aboard, particularly as they relate to the Peace Corps.
The first Ruppe Lecture was given in September 1996 by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who worked as the Peace Corps country director in Morocco in the early 1970s and who served as the principal negotiator for the Dayton Peace Accord that helped end the tragic war in Bosnia.

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