Himself Alone

"David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, is one of the unlikeliest and most complicated political leaders of our times. Long reviled by nationalist Ireland and much of mainland opinion as an awkward and flinty loyalist extremist, both his admirers and detractors agree that the Belfast Agreement could not have been made without him. This taciturn ex-Queen's University law lecturer and lover of opera has become the first Unionist leader to enjoy international recognition, being praised by the Nobel Peace Prize committee for his 'great political courage' and regularly visiting the…