Charismatic, tough and articulate, Adams, the bearded leader of the IRA’s political wing Sinn Fein, was a hated figure for many Protestants in Northern Ireland during the province’s three-decade long Troubles.
But he is credited with eventually convincing the IRA to give up their armed campaign and use purely political means to pursue the aim of uniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.
Born in Belfast on October 6, 1948, Adams came from a staunch republican background. His father was an IRA man who was jailed for eight years for his role in an ambush.
As a teenager, Adams became involved in the 1960s Catholic civil rights movement seeking to end discrimination favouring the pro-British Protestant majority.
He married Collette McArdle in 1971 and had one son, Gearoid, born two years later.
Adams was interned without trial in 1972 and 1973, in the early years of the Troubles – the 30 years of violence in which 3,500 people died.
He was charged with IRA membership in 1978 but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Adams always publicly said he was never an IRA member.
Malachi O’Doherty, author of ‘Gerry Adams: An Unauthorised Life’, told AFP: ‘He is committed to preserving the reputation of the IRA.’
O’Doherty believes Adams was an IRA member but was always ‘more politically than militarily inclined’.
Credit: AFP