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.

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.

Other websites
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
 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 

Category:1930 births
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Secretaries of State for the Home Department
Category:Members of the British House of Commons for English constituencies
Category:People educated at Eton College
Category:People from Wiltshire
Category:UK MPs 1974
Category:UK MPs 1974–1979
Category:UK MPs 1979–1983
Category:UK MPs 1983–1987
Category:UK MPs 1987–1992
Category:UK MPs 1992–1997
Category:Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs
Category:Conservative Life Peers
Category:British secretaries of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs