Brief Biography:

A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, Douglas Hurd left his job in the British diplomatic service to pursue a political career when he became a party worker with the Conservative Party. Then at the general election of February 1974 Hurd was elected as the new Conservative MP for the constituency of Mid Oxon (1974-83) and later went onto represent Witney (1983-97). When his party returned to power in 1979 he served in a number of junior ministerial positions before being appointed to the Cabinet in September 1984 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (September 1984 - September 1985). Although he was to hold this position for a relatively short period of time Hurd was still to have a significant impact on Northern Ireland affairs. In particular his spell as Northern Ireland Secretary was to coincide with an intensive round of negotiations between the authorities in London and Dublin which were to eventually produce in November 1985 the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA). After leaving Northern Ireland he went on to serve as Home Secretary (1985-89) and then as Foreign Secretary (1989-95). Prior to the 1997 general election Hurd announced his intention to step down as an MP and later in 1997 received a life peerage and took his seat in the House of Lords.

Book References:

Arthur, Paul. (2000), Special Relationships : Britain, Ireland and the Northern Ireland Problem. Belfast: Blackstaff.
Elliott, Sydney. and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
Ramsden, John (ed.) (2002), The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century British Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Web Sources:

[Entry written by B.Lynn - 30 March 2003]