Paddy Ashdown

The Right Honourable The Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon GCMG CH KBE PC
Paddy Ashdown (2005)
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
In office 16 July 1988 – 11 August 1999
Deputy	Russell Johnston Alan Beith
President	Ian Wrigglesworth Charles Kennedy Bob Maclennan The Baroness Maddock
Preceded by	David Steel (Lib.) Bob Maclennan (SDP)
Succeeded by	Charles Kennedy
4th High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 27 May 2002 – 31 January 2006
Preceded by	Wolfgang Petritsch
Succeeded by	Christian Schwarz-Schilling
1st European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 3 June 2002 – 31 January 2006
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Christian Schwarz-Schilling
Chair of the Liberal Democrat General Election Committee
In office 26 September 2012 – 7 May 2015
Leader	Nick Clegg
Preceded by	Willie Rennie (2010)
Succeeded by	Greg Mulholland
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage 10 July 2001 – 22 December 2018
Member of Parliament for Yeovil
In office 9 June 1983 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by	John Peyton
Succeeded by	David Laws
Personal details
Born	Jeremy John Durham Ashdown (1941-02-27)27 February 1941 New Delhi, British India
Died	22 December 2018(2018-12-22) (aged 77) Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, England
Cause of death	Bladder cancer
Resting place	Church of St Mary the Virgin, Norton Sub Hamdon
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Other political affiliations	Liberal (1975–1988) Labour (before 1975)
Spouse(s)	Jane Courtenay (m. 1962)
Children	2
Alma mater	Bedford School
Profession	Diplomacy
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Marines
Years of service	1959–1972
Rank	Captain
Unit	Special Boat Service
Battles/wars	Indonesian Confrontation Operation Banner
n.b. ^ as Campaigns & Communications Chair

Jeremy John Durham "Paddy" Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon GCMG CH KBE PC (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 Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats, Ashdown was elected the leader of the new party 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.

Other websites

• Media related to Paddy Ashdown at Wikimedia Commons
• Quotations related to Paddy Ashdown at Wikiquote