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biography
| name: |
Ashdown, Paddy
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popular name of Lord Jeremy John Durham Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon
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| sex:
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| lived:
| (1941– )
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| biography:
| British politician, born in India. After a childhood and youth spent in India and Ulster, he joined the Royal Marines, serving in the Special Boat Service. He then studied Mandarin at Hong Kong University, and spent five years in the diplomatic service. He overturned a large Conservative majority in his constituency of Yeovil and entered the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1983. In 1988 he won the leadership election for the new Liberal and Social Democratic Party. In 1999, having led the Liberal Democrats to their best general election result for over half a century, he resigned as leader. He received a knighthood in the year 2000, and was raised to the peerage in 2001. In 2002 he became the international community's representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina with final responsibility for implementing the terms of the Dayton peace accord, signed by the warring factions in December 1995. |
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