Person Open DS/UK/16886 Hurd; Douglas Richard (1930-); Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC; British Conservative politician and novelist Hurd Douglas Richard 1930- British Conservative politician and novelist Male

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC (born 8 March 1930), is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995. 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 1979-83 (being that office's inaugural holder), and 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, 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. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHSkeyte 6/2/2014 Rachael.Fragola 3/1/2022 2ba4fd40-31e9-43a4-b0ed-14360ac59579