Seán MacBride

Seán MacBride (1904-1988), Irish politician, lawyer, and human rights advocate, who believed all individuals should have the right to express their political beliefs without fear. MacBride shared the 1974 Nobel Prize for peace with Sato Eisaku, the former prime minister of Japan.

MacBride was born in Paris and lived a tumultuous childhood both there and in Dublin, Ireland. His father, John MacBride, was an Irish nationalist who was captured and executed by the British during the Easter Rebellion of 1916. His mother was also arrested numerous times for her political activities. In 1917, at the age of 13, MacBride joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a military organization dedicated to securing Ireland’s independence from Great Britain.

From 1919 to 1921 , during the Irish Revolution, MacBride served as an officer in the IRA. In 1920 he began studies at University College Dublin. The peace treaty ending the revolution partitioned Ireland into the Irish Free State and the six counties of Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom. From 1922 to 1923 forces opposed to the treaty, including many members of the IRA, began a civil war against the government of the Irish Free State (see Irish Civil War). During this period MacBride was arrested several times for his involvement with the IRA. While in hiding from authorities over the next 14 years, MacBride worked as a journalist and later studied law at the Honorable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin. In 1936 MacBride left the IRA, and the following year he received his barrister-at-law degree from King’s Inns.

Beginning in 1948, MacBride served as the foreign minister of Eire, which in 1949 became Ireland. In this role he helped secure adoption by the Council of Europe of the European Convention on Human Rights. From 1961 to 1974 MacBride served as the chairman of Amnesty International. He helped promote Amnesty International as an organization free of national prejudice working to end political persecution worldwide. MacBride was also involved with the International Commission of Jurists and the International Peace Bureau, organizations monitoring human rights violations. From 1973 to 1976 MacBride served as United Nations commissioner for Namibia.

After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, MacBride continued to work in a variety of capacities for the United Nations. He also lobbied for the elimination of nuclear weapons. In 1992 the International Peace Bureau established the Seán MacBride Peace Prize in his honor.