| In Memoriam: Mo Mowlam, Unique and Respected
British Politician By Julie Grates
Mo Mowlam, the former Secretary of State of Northern Ireland, lost her
long battle with a brain tumour in late August. She was 55.
The former Secretary of State served from 1997-1999 and was an intricate
part of the peace process in Northern Ireland. Mowlam was a very candid
and feisty woman who worked tirelessly to promote peace.
When appointed to the post in 1997, she was a fresh face for the job.
Her style in dealing with politics was quite different from her predecessor.
Many remember her as an extremely frank, direct woman who used very colourful
language.
U.S. Senator George Mitchell put it the best when he said, “She is blunt
and outspoken and she swears a lot. She is also intelligent, decisive, daring
and unpretentious. The combination is irresistible. The people love her,
though many politicians do not.”
Many U.S. politicians paid tributes and complimented the woman who helped
lay the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement.
Senator Edward Kennedy said, “I had immense respect for her ability and
dedication to the peace process in Northern Ireland. She was extraordinarily
committed and effective, and we’re closer to a lasting peace today because
of her.”
Former President Bill Clinton agreed. “Mo was an integral part of building
a peace process in Northern Ireland that has endured for over a decade.
All of us who worked to support peace in Northern Ireland owe her our gratitude.”
Marjorie Mowlam was born in 1949 to a middle-class family in Coventry.
She did not have an easy childhood—her family was always short on money
and her father was an alcoholic. Needless to say, she overcame those hardships
and became a college lecturer. She entered politics at the late age of 38,
when she won a seat in Parliament in Redcar, on the North Sea coast.
She soon made herself heard in Parliament and became an essential part
of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labor Party. Blair was elected in 1997 and
quickly appointed Mowlam as Northern Ireland’s Secretary of State. Her goal
was to come up with a peace process for the violence occurring in Northern
Ireland.
While Mowlam worked tirelessly to establish a good relationship with
Sinn Féin, many unionists criticized her efforts, saying she sympathized
with the Republican cause too much and she should concentrate on keeping
Ireland united.
Mowlam became an intricate part of the peace accords. She had no fear
of shouting at politicians, mostly men, on both sides of the Northern Ireland
conflict. In fact while helping to negotiate the Good Friday peace settlement
in 1998, she said to Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Féin, “Bloody well get
on and do it; otherwise I’ll head-butt you!”
Eventually, Blair and Mowlam had a political falling out and he replaced
Mowlam in her post against her will. She complained and criticized the government,
saying they made her like a “tea lady.” Mowlam was demoted to a less important
job in the cabinet and ended up quitting politics for good. In 2002, she
wrote a memoir entitled Momentum.
Mo Mowlam is survived by her husband and two stepchildren.
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