Douglas Hurd

British Conservative politician and novelist · United Kingdom · On the map · Politicians · Born 1930 · age 96

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell is an English Conservative Party politician and author who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995.

Douglas Hurd is read about 164 times a day, in 23 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2008“People are very interested in politics, they just don't like it labelled 'politics'.”In their words15 May 2008Interview with Rhian Harris about the Tories then and nowRead the whole statement

1997“Prison is an expensive way of making bad people worse.”In their words15 January 1997‘Hurd takes on prison reform trust’, The IndependentRead the whole statement

1993“NATO is one of the principal props which have allowed Britain to punch above its weight in the world.”In their words4 February 1993Speech at Chatham House, reported in the Financial TimesRead the whole statement

1992“Now we've signed it - we had better read it!”In their words7 February 1992Remark on the Maastricht Treaty (7 February 1992), quoted in Bill Jamieson, Britain Beyond Europe (1994), p. 72Read the whole statement

1990“European security without the United States simply doesn't make sense. We Europeans need to say loud and clear that we welcome US forces in Europe.”In their words10 December 1990Speech in Berlin (10 December 1990), quoted in The Times (11 December 1990), p. 22Read the whole statement

“Thatcherism is not Tutankhamun's tomb, which you've got to seal up and guard. It has to fructify. It's an investment. Take what has been achieved and go on from there.”In their words25 November 1990Interview with Simon Jenkins (25 November 1990), quoted in The Times (26 November 1990), p. 12Read the whole statement

1930Born8 March 1930

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Hurd with President George H. W. Bush in 1991

Insignia of a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour

In their own words 4

Douglas Hurd

4 statements, newest first

We should be wary of politicians who profess to follow history while only noticing those signposts of history that point in the direction which they themselves already favour.
18 April 2005 · Speech in Berlin, Own words
There is a danger that we legislate to feel good, not to do good. Nowhere is this truer than in social legislation.
1994 · ‘Making the Union Work’, Studia Diplomatica, Vol. 47, No. 2 (1994), p. 18, Own words
We have learnt that one cannot suppress nationalist feeling or force it into a framework against which it revolts.
3 July 1991 · Speech in the House of Commons on Yugoslavia, Own words