Hello, I'm Mark Carruthers and in this edition of Red Lines, I'm talking face to face to someone

who will forever be associated with the complex pursuit of peace in Northern Ireland. His patient,

skillful chairing of the multi-party talks in the late 1990s produced the breakthroughs some thought

might never happen. The Belfast Agreement was signed on Good Friday 1998

and it set in place a template for the future governance of a place

which had by then suffered decades of violence and social upheaval.

Senator George Mitchell was President Bill Clinton's pick

as his special envoy for Northern Ireland in 1995.

And that, of course, came after distinguished legal and political careers, which saw

him serving as both a federal judge and majority leader in the US Senate.

Senator Mitchell, welcome to Red Lions.

Thank you for having me.

The Northern Ireland made documentary film about your life,

which has just been released, is called The Negigator. If you had to pick just one word to describe

your career, is that the word you think sums you up best? Life is a negotiation for every human

being. I've said often in the past 25 years,

most of my negotiating is done with my children and my wife.

And so I carried that on into other parts of my life

and ended up being a negotiator in Northern Ireland.

And that was probably the biggest challenge of your career, was it when you look back?

I spent 15 years in the United States Senate, six of them as the Senate Majority Leader.

It's a very difficult task.

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