No ones contribution has been greater. When the final history of this extraordinary agreement is written. the name of John Hume will stand first. The courageous decision by President Clinton to grant a visa for Gerry Adams. the leader of Sinn Fein. to visit the United States in early 1994 was a key step leading to the decision by the Irish Republican Army to declare a ceasefire in August of that year. and the Loyalist paramilitaries did the same in October 1994. In the years that followed. there were many obstacles. setbacks. and crises to be overcome. but the parties never lost sight of the goal of the peace. A new British Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair was elected in May 1997. and a new Irish Government under Taoiseach Bertie Ahern came to power in June.