Ian Paisley | Northern Ireland leader, 88

Ian Paisley, 88, a Protestant minister and political agitator in Northern Ireland whose incendiary rhetoric stoked anti-Catholic violence for decades and who made a stunning late-career reversal that thrust him to a power sharing leadership role, died Friday in Belfast. The death was announced by his wife, Eileen Paisley. He had a history of heart ailments.

Mr. Paisley became Northern Ireland's co-leader in 2007 after entering an agreement with Sinn Fein, the Catholic-led political arm of the outlawed militant Irish Republican Army. The two parties had been sworn enemies for more than three decades.

That the partnership prevailed was largely owed to Paisley, said former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who served as the U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland in the 1990s.

"I think he deserves credit for making possible the changes that have taken place in Northern Ireland," Mitchell said. "He did it through the force of his personality and his intellect."

Whether from the pulpit or parliament, Mr. Paisley was an expert at sparking controversy. In Northern Ireland's bloody history, few figures were considered as divisive.

He rose to prominence in the 1960s at the start of "the Troubles," in which Ireland was engulfed in sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants.

As a staunch unionist, Mr. Paisley fought to keep Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and spoke vehemently against any proposals to integrate the country with its southern neighbor, the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign body composed of a Catholic majority.

Although he preached against the use of force in his church, his acidic words carried weight. On several occasions, his sermons caused riots.

In the 1990s, Mr. Paisley refused to participate in a U.S. effort to craft a peace accord between the Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland.

He said he would not be party to any negotiations involving Sinn Fein. The document was completed without his input and was later known as the Good Friday agreement, for the date in April 1998 it was signed.

By the early 2000s, the IRA began to put down its arms. The sectarian strife had killed an estimated 3,500 people.

The thaw in relations between Catholics and Protestants allowed Mr. Paisley to agree in 2007 to form an alliance with Sinn Fein, which was led by former IRA commando Martin McGuinness. The pair shared equal power of domestic affairs, with Mr. Paisley as first minister and McGuinness as deputy first minister.

He stepped down as first minister in 2008 and began to retire from public life amid health problems. In 2010, he left the British House of Commons. - Washington Post