Professor Ed Cairns: A personal and professional biography

Abstract

This article provides a brief overview of Ed Cairns' (1945-2012) personal and professional life. Born, raised, and educated in Belfast, Ed's career at the University of Ulster spanned the years of Northern Ireland's contemporary political violence-from the riots of the early 1970s, through the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and into the present postconflict period. A fellow of both the British Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association, Ed was a leading international scholar on social identity, conflict and peace, and children and political violence. He was a committed teacher and mentor of many university students and of many peace psychologists from around the globe. He was also an influential leader worldwide and the first international President of APA's Division 48, the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence. © 2014 American Psychological Association.