LORD John Alderdice has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his work and dedication to psychiatry.
The former Alliance leader has been recognised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which said "not only was he an ambassador for peace and conflict resolution during turbulent times in Northern Ireland but he is a focused and world-leading psychiatrist at the top of his profession".
The awards mark the highest levels of excellence and achievement within the field of psychiatry.
Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said "if anyone deserves a lifetime achievement award, it is Lord John Alderdice".
"He has devoted so much of his working life to politics and psychiatry," he said.
Lord Alderdice played a vital role in helping to resolve conflict and restore peace during the Troubles. Elected leader of the Alliance Party in 1987, he engaged in ongoing talks that culminated in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
In his psychiatry career, he was appointed to professorships at the University of San Marcos in Peru and at the universities of Virginia and Maryland in the USA.
He currently holds appointments at Oxford University, including senior research fellow at Harris Manchester College and executive chairman of The Changing Character of War Centre at Pembroke College.
He is a professor of practice at the Global Humanity for Peace Institute at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Lord Alderdice said: "This award is a demonstration of the good fortune I have had in my professional life to be encouraged by colleagues in psychiatry who care both about their patients, and the disturbed societies in which they live.
"The mental health professionals that I worked with in Northern Ireland, and later around the world, gave me the intellectual, emotional, and collegial support that I needed to work in situations of conflict.
"I want them and others to know that they should never underestimate the impact and importance of encouragement, especially to a young person trying to do the best they can for others."
