Douglas Hurd
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Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |||||||||||||
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In office 26 October 1989 – 5 July 1995 | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
Preceded by | John Major | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Malcolm Rifkind | ||||||||||||
Home Secretary | |||||||||||||
In office 2 September 1985 – 26 October 1989 | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Leon Brittan | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | David Waddington | ||||||||||||
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||
In office 27 September 1984 – 2 September 1985 | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Jim Prior | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Tom King | ||||||||||||
Minister of State for the Home Office[1] | |||||||||||||
In office 9 June 1983 – 27 September 1984 | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Patrick Mayhew | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Giles Shaw | ||||||||||||
Minister of State for Europe | |||||||||||||
In office 4 May 1979 – 9 June 1983 | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Malcolm Rifkind | ||||||||||||
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Marcia Falkender | |||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Marcia Falkender | ||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||
Born | Douglas Richard Hurd 8 March 1930 Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK | ||||||||||||
Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||
Spouses | Tatiana Eyre
(m. 1960; div. 1982)Judy Smart
(m. 1982; died 2008) | ||||||||||||
Children | 5, including Anthony Hurd Stephanie Frances Corner | ||||||||||||
Relatives | Sir Percy Hurd (grandfather) | ||||||||||||
Education | Eton College | ||||||||||||
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||
Signature | |||||||||||||
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell,
A career diplomat and political secretary to Prime Minister
In 1997, Hurd was elevated to the
Early life
Hurd was born in 1930 in the
Following school Hurd did
Hurd went up to
In 1952, Hurd joined the Diplomatic Service. He was posted to China, the United States and Italy, before leaving the service in 1966 to enter politics as a member of the Conservative Party.
Member of Parliament
Hurd became private secretary (a political appointment, his salary paid by the Conservative Party) to Conservative Prime Minister
In government: 1979–1990
Hurd was appointed
Widely seen as a "safe pair of hands" and a solid, loyal member of the Cabinet, Hurd's tenure as Home Secretary was largely uncontroversial, although he was notably of the view that
Hurd brought in the Public Order Act, 1986, which created the crime of hate speech for speech which is "threatening, abusive or insulting" and which is spoken in public, with intent or likely to "stir up" racial hatred.[20]
Candidature in the 1990 leadership election
Hurd's Cabinet career progressed further during the turbulent final months of Margaret Thatcher's prime ministership. On 26 October 1989, Hurd moved to the Foreign Office, succeeding John Major, whose rapid rise through the Cabinet saw him become Chancellor of the Exchequer in the wake of Nigel Lawson's resignation.
In mid-November 1990, he supported Margaret Thatcher's candidature as Conservative Party leader against challenger Michael Heseltine, but on her withdrawal from the second round of the contest on 22 November, Hurd decided to enter the race as a moderate centre-right candidate, drawing on his reputation as a successful 'law-and-order' Home Secretary. He was endorsed by former Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader Edward Heath.[21] He was seen as an outsider, lagging behind the more charismatic Heseltine and the eventual winner, John Major, who shared the moderate centre-right political ground with Hurd but had the added advantages of youth and political momentum. Hurd's Etonian education may have also been a disadvantage. Years later, Hurd expressed frustration that his privileged background counted against him in the leadership election, commenting in an interview that "I should have said I am standing for leadership of the Tory party and not for some demented Marxist outfit".[22] He came third, winning 56 of the 372 votes cast and, together with Heseltine, conceded defeat to allow Major, who had fallen just three votes short of an outright majority, to return unopposed and take over as prime minister on 27 November 1990. Hurd was gracious in defeat and, on the formation of Major's first Cabinet, was returned to his position as Foreign Secretary.[23][24]
Foreign Secretary
Hurd was widely regarded as a
One of the defining features of Hurd's tenure as Foreign Secretary was the British reaction to the
Shortly after his withdrawal from frontline politics, Hurd travelled to Serbia and Montenegro to meet Slobodan Milošević on behalf of the British bank NatWest (see below), fuelling some speculation that Hurd had taken a pro-Serbian line. There has been criticism[28][29] of Hurd's policies in relation to the war. The Bosnian government even threatened to charge Hurd as an accomplice to the Bosnian genocide before the War Tribunal at The Hague, though this came to nothing. In 2010 Hurd told a reporter that he was troubled by his Bosnia policy but still doubted that intervention would have brought about an earlier end to the war.[30]
Hurd was involved in
In 1997, the administration of the UK's aid budget was removed from the Foreign Secretary's remit (previously the
Retirement
After his retirement as foreign secretary, Hurd remained a key supporter of John Major, and kept a range of active political involvements as well as taking on some business appointments, most notably as a deputy chairman of NatWest Markets and a board director of NatWest Group, posts he held from October 1995–99.[citation needed]
Hurd left the House of Commons at the 1997 general election, and on 13 June 1997 was created Baron Hurd of Westwell, of Westwell in the County of Oxfordshire,[33] which enabled him to continue sitting in Parliament as a member of the House of Lords. He retired from the Lords on 9 June 2016.[34]
In December 1997, Hurd was appointed chairman of British Invisibles (now renamed
Hurd is chairman of the advisory council at FIRST,
Hurd is a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation, established in October 2009.[38]
Personal life
Hurd has married twice. In 1960, he married his first wife Tatiana, daughter of Major Arthur Eyre MBE, and their union produced three sons. The couple separated in 1976, and divorced in 1982. Tatiana Hurd cited her husband's career as the reason for their separation, saying, "Really, politics don't mix with marriage". In 1982 Hurd married Judy Smart, his former parliamentary secretary, who was 19 years his junior. They had two children, a boy and a girl.
Hurd's eldest son, Nick Hurd, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Ruislip Northwood and Pinner from May 2005 to December 2019. In 2010, he was appointed Minister for Civil Society[41] and married Lady Clare Kerr, daughter of the Marquess of Lothian.
Hurd's second son, Thomas, joined the
In 1988, Hurd set up the charity Crime Concern.[43] Crime Concern worked to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, by working with young people, their families and adult offenders, offering opportunities through training and employment. Crime Concern merged with young people's charity Rainer in 2008 to become Catch22.[44] Hurd is fluent in Mandarin, French, and Italian.[45]
Literary works
Hurd is a writer of political thrillers including:
- The Smile on the Face of the Tiger (1969, with Andrew Osmond)
- Scotch on the Rocks (1971, with Andrew Osmond)
- Truth Game (1972)
- A Vote to a Kill (1975)
- Palace of Enchantments (1985, with Stephen Lamport)
- The Shape of Ice (1998)
- Image in the Water (2001)
- 10 Minutes to Turn the Devil (2015), a collection of short stories.
His non-fiction works include:
- The Arrow War (1967)
- An End To Promises (1979)
- The Search for Peace (1997)
- Memoirs (2003)
- Robert Peel, a Biography (2007)[46]
- Choose your Weapons (2010)[47]
- Disraeli: or, The Two Lives (2013, with Edward Young)[48]
See also
- Thatcher Ministry (1979–1990) and Major Ministry (1990–1997), Governments in which Hurd served
- Order of the Companions of Honour
- List of political families in the United Kingdom
- Tory Reform Group
- British-American Parliamentary Group
- Margaret (2009 film)
References
- ISBN 072300255X.
- ^ "Hon. Douglas Hurd". Hansard. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Lord Hurd of Westwell - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ Douglas Hurd, Memoirs (2003).
- ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Hurd 2003, p52
- ^ Hurd 2003, pp61-8
- ^ Hurd 2003, p64
- ^ Hurd 2003, p68
- ^ Hurd 2003, p85
- ^ Hurd 2003, p71
- ^ Hurd 2003, p. 77
- ^ Hurd 2003, p81
- ^ Hurd 2003, p. 71
- ^ [1] Archived 26 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ University education. "You may have a first-class degree – but Lord Winston doesn't want you". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "No. 46254". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 April 1974. pp. 4395–4398.
- ^ a b Hurd, Memoirs (2003).
- ^ a b c d "Douglas Hurd". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Public Order Act 1986". www.legislation.gov.uk. 1986.
- OCLC 489636152.
- ^ "'Ten years from now we will be in the EU and thinking again about joining the euro'". www.theguardian.com. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2022.[title missing]
- ^ "1990: Tories choose Major for Number 10". BBC News. 27 November 1990.
- ^ Bogdanor, Vernon (18 January 2014). "The Spectator book review that brought down Macmillan's government". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Mark Stuart, Douglas Hurd: the public servant: an authorised biography (1998)
- ^ Nick Cohen. "Observer review: Unfinest Hour by Brendan Simms | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Bosnia Report – July – September 2000". Bosnia.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Srebrenica: the silence over Britain's guilt must be ended | Vernon Bogdanor". The Guardian. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Mazower, Mark (11 April 2012). "How Britain got it wrong in Bosnia". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Flanagan, Julian (30 March 2010). "Douglas Hurd: 'I am not brilliant. Not a great original'". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ [2] Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "A rare survivor". POLITICO. 3 January 1996. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "No. 54810". The London Gazette. 18 June 1997. p. 7063.
- ^ Lord Hurd of Westwell, parliament.uk, 12 June 2016
- ^ [3] Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The forum for decision makers. FIRST Magazine focuses on business strategy and government policy making". FIRST Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 5.
- ^ Borger, Julian (8 September 2009). "Nuclear-free world ultimate aim of new cross-party pressure group". The Guardian. London, UK.
- ^ "The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Judy Hurd". Oxford Mail. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ "Nick Hurd – GOV.UK". Cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Introduction to Preventative Work from Making A Difference". Enabler Publications. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Transforming lives, transforming communities". Catch22. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "What does it take to be a great foreign secretary?". BBC News. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- )
- )
- ^ "ISBN Unavailable". Orionbooks.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
Further reading
- Hurd, Douglas. Memoirs (Little, Brown, 2003)
- Hurd, Douglas. The Search for Peace (Little, Brown, 1997)
- Stuart, Mark. Douglas Hurd: the public servant: an authorised biography Mainstream Publishing Company, 1998.
- Theakston, Kevin, ed. British Foreign Secretaries since 1974 (Routledge, 2004).
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Douglas Hurd
- Hurd's memories of his assignment Beijing in the 1950s
- Hurd intervenes in the 2001 General Election campaign on European policy
- BBC reports on the findings of Hurd's commission into the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury
- An article by Douglas Hurd on peace in the Middle East
- Speech by Hurd on Britain and Europe[permanent dead link]
- Daily Telegraph review of Robert Peel, a Biography[dead link]
- Economist Review of "Robert Peel, a Biography"
- Patron, Witney History Society Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Douglas Hurd at the Financial Times
- Portraits of Douglas Hurd at the National Portrait Gallery, London