Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 920/832-6590
For Immediate Release
March 27, 2000

Chief Negotiator Discusses Historic Northern Ireland Peace Accord in
Lawrence University Convocation


     APPLETON, WIS. -- Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who presided
over the negotiations that produced the 1998 "Good Friday" peace
agreement in Northern Ireland, shares his insider's perspective on the
historic accord Tuesday, April 4 in a Lawrence University convocation.
     Mitchell presents "Making Peace," a behind-the-scenes account of
the negotiations that culminated in the Northern Ireland peace
settlement, at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.  Mitchell
also will conduct a question-and-answer session from 2:00 - 2:45 p.m. in
Riverview Lounge of the Lawrence Memorial Union.  Both events are free
and open to the public.
     As independent chairman of the negotiations in Northern Ireland,
Mitchell brokered the peace agreement between the governments of Ireland
and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland.
The accord was overwhelmingly endorsed in a referendum by the voters of
Ireland in May 1998.
     For his efforts in ending the decades of conflict there, Mitchell
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United Nations Peace
Prize and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
     Mitchell was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1980 to complete the
unexpired term of Edmund Muskie, who resigned to become President
Reagan's Secretary of State.  He was later elected to two full terms,
serving in the Senate until 1994. During his tenure in Congress,
Mitchell was voted "the  most respected member" of the Senate by a
bipartisan group of senior congressional aides for six consecutive
years.  He has been mentioned as a possible vice president running mate
to Al Gore in the fall 2000 election.
     After leaving the Senate in 1995, Mitchell joined a Washington,
D.C. law firm, for which he still works for today. In addition, he
serves as chairman of the International Crisis Group, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the prevention of crisis in international
affairs.
     The author of four books, Mitchell has written about the
Iran-Contra investigation ("Men of Zeal"), the threat of the greenhouse
effect ("World on Fire") and the collapse of communism ("Not For America
Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism.")  His most
recent book, "Making Peace," published last year, reconstructs the
Northern Ireland peace negotiations.
     Mitchell earned his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in
1954.  Following graduation he served two years in Berlin, Germany as an
officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps.  He earned his law
degree from Georgetown University in 1960.