Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995.
The Right Honourable The Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PC | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hurd in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1970–1974 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | 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 Nick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Anthony Hurd Stephanie Frances Corner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Sir Percy Hurd (grandfather) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Eton College | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signature | |||||||||||||||||||
A career diplomat and political secretary to Prime Minister Edward Heath, 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 from 1984 onwards, including 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, and 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. He retired from the Lords in 2016.