Douglas Hurd

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative politician. He served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995.

The Right Honourable The Lord Hurd of Westwell
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 26 October 1989 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
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	James Prior
Succeeded by	Tom King
Minister for Europe
In office 4 May 1979 – 9 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Malcolm Rifkind
Member of Parliament for Witney
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Shaun Woodward
Member of Parliament for Mid Oxfordshire
In office 28 February 1974 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Douglas Richard Hurd (1930-03-08) 8 March 1930 Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	(1) Tatania, daughter of Major Arthur Eyre MBE (div. 1982) ; (2) Judy née Smart (d. 2008)
Relations	Anthony, Lord Hurd (father); Sir Percy Hurd (grandfather); Sir Archibald Hurd (uncle)
Children	3 sons (by 1st wife); 1 son and 1 daughter (by 2nd wife)
Alma mater	Eton College Trinity College, Cambridge

He was born in the market town of Marlborough in Wiltshire. Hurd first entered Parliament in February 1974 as MP for the Mid Oxfordshire constituency (Witney from 1983). His first government post was as Minister for Europe from 1979 to 1983 (being that office's inaugural holder) and he served in several Cabinet roles since 1984.

His jobs include Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1984–85), Home Secretary (1985–89) and Foreign Secretary (1989–95). He stood unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party leadership in 1990, but retired from frontline politics during a Cabinet reshuffle in 1995.

In 1997, Hurd was elevated to the House of Lords and is one of the Conservative Party's most senior elder statesmen. He is a patron of the Tory Reform Group and remains an active figure in public life.

Douglas Hurd Media

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  Order of the British Empire ribbon

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  Hurd with President George H. W. Bush in 1991

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  Insignia of a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour

Other websites

• Hurd's memories of his assignment Beijing in the 1950s Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
• 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 Archived 2016-09-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Speech by Hurd on Britain and Europe
• Daily Telegraph review of Robert Peel, a Biography
• Economist Review of "Robert Peel, a Biography"
• Daily Mail Review of "Robert Peel, A Biography"
• Patron, Witney History Society Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine