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The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies Campbell C.B.E QC.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC, born 22nd May 1941. Married 1970 Elspeth Mary Urquhart, eldest daughter of Major General R.E Urquhart CB DSO, who commanded the British First Airborne Division at Arnhem.
Educated at Hillhead High School, Glasgow and Glasgow University where he graduated M.A., LL.B., and Stanford University, California, where he carried out postgraduate studies in international law. At Glasgow University he was President of the Union 1964 – 1965.
As an international athlete, he competed in the 1964 (Tokyo) Olympic Games and the 1966 (Jamaica) Commonwealth Games. He captained the United Kingdom athletics team in 1965 and 1966. He held, and rebroke, the British 100 metre record from 1967 to 1974.
Called to the Scottish Bar as an Advocate in 1968, and appointed Queens Counsel in 1982. He was on the Scottish Sports Council for 10 years and is a trustee of the Scottish International Education Trust. He was until 1987 Chairman of the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. He also served on the Broadcasting Council for Scotland from 1984 until 1987 and was a member of the Clayson Committee on liquor licensing reform in Scotland. He is currently a member of the Board of British Council and of the Air League.
He was Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party 1975 – 1977 and parliamentary candidate 1974 (twice), 1979, 1983 and 1987 when he was elected Member of Parliament for North East Fife which contains St. Andrews, famous for its University, and the Home of Golf, the Old Course of which he is a trustee. He retained his seat in 1992, 1997 and 2001 with increased percentages of the vote.
He was awarded CBE in the New Years Honours of 1987 and appointed to the Privy Council in 1999. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Glasgow and was given a Knighthood in the 2004 New Years Honours List. He holds honorary degrees from Glasgow and Strathclyde universities and became Chancellor of St Andrews University in April 2006.
In Parliament he was the Liberal Democrats Foreign Affairs Spokesman from 1997 – 2006. He has served on the Members’ Interests (1987 – 1990), Trade and Industry (1990 – 1992) and Defence (1992 – 1999) Select Committees. He was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2003 and Elected Leader in March 2006. He stood down as Leader in October 2007. He is currently a Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly which he had previously served on (1989 – 2006) before becoming Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
He has won a variety of awards including the Herald Newspaper Best Scot at Westminster Award 2004, Hansard Society Opposition Politician of the Year 2004 and the Channel 4 Opposition Politician of the Year 2004.
