Paddy Ashdown

**Jeremy John Durham** "**Paddy**" **Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon**  (27 February 1941 – 22 December 2018) was a British politician and international diplomat. He served as leader of the Liberal Democrats from July 1988 to August 1999.

## Biography

Paddy Ashdown was born in New Delhi, British India, but was brought up in Northern Ireland and his Irish accent brought him the nickname "Paddy". He served in the Royal Marines from 1959 to 1972 and saw fighting in Borneo, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland. At the 1983 general election, Ashdown became the Liberal Party's Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Yeovil.

In 1988, when the Social Democratic Party merged into the Liberal Party as the Liberal Democrats, Ashdown was elected the leader of the Liberals and led the party through the 1992 and 1997 general elections. He resigned in 1999, and was given both a knighthood and a seat in the House of Lords. In the House of Lords, he was given the title Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon. From 2002 to 2006 he served as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

His reputation was damaged slightly in 1992, when it was revealed that he had a five-month extra-marital affair with his secretary, and many British newspapers exposed this in great detail. _The Sun_ newspaper ran a famous headline which played on Ashdown's name, calling him "Paddy Pants-Down".

Ashdown was diagnosed with "serious" bladder cancer in October 2018. He died two months later on 22 December 2018 from the disease in Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, at the age of 77.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **name**: The Lord Ashdown of
- **image**: Paddy Ashdown (2005).jpg
- **alt**: portrait photograph of Ashdown
- **caption**: Paddy Ashdown (2005)
- **office**: Leader of the Liberal Democrats
- **1blankname**: President of the Liberal Democrats, President
- **term start**: 16 July 1988
- **term end**: 11 August 1999
- **successor**: Charles Kennedy
- **order2**: 4th
- **office2**: High Representative for Bosnia and HerzegovinaHigh Representative
for Bosnia and Herzegovina
- **term start2**: 27 May 2002
- **term end2**: 31 January 2006
- **predecessor2**: Wolfgang Petritsch
- **successor2**: Christian Schwarz-Schilling
- **office3**: 1st European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
- **term start3**: 3 June 2002
- **term end3**: 31 January 2006
- **predecessor3**: _Office established_
- **successor3**: Christian Schwarz-Schilling
- **office4**: Chair of the Frontbench Team of Nick Clegg#2015 General Election Cabinet, Liberal Democrat General Election Committee
- **term start4**: 26 September 2012
- **term end4**: 7 May 2015
- **leader4**: Nick Clegg
- **predecessor4**: Willie Rennie (2010)
- **successor4**: Greg Mulholland
- **office6**: Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament
for Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency), Yeovil
- **term start6**: 9 June 1983
- **term end6**: 14 May 2001
- **predecessor6**: John Peyton, Baron Peyton of Yeovil, John Peyton
- **successor6**: David Laws
- **office5**: Member of the House of Lords
- **status5**: Lords Temporal, Lord Temporal
- **term label5**: Life peerage
- **term start5**: 10 July 2001
- **term end5**: 22 December 2018
- **birthname**: Jeremy John Durham Ashdown
- **birth place**: New Delhi, British Raj, British India
- **death place**: Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, England
- **death cause**: Bladder cancer
- **resting place**: Church of St Mary the Virgin, Norton Sub Hamdon
- **nationality**: British
- **party**: Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats
- **children**: 2
- **alma mater**: Bedford School
- **profession**: Diplomacy
- **footnotes**: n.b. 
- **serviceyears**: 1959–1972
- **rank**: Captain
- **unit**: Special Boat Service