Paddy Ashdown

Paddy Ashdown

Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, CH, KBE, PC (born 27 February 1941 –22 December 2018), commonly known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and former Royal Marine. He is a former Leader of the UK Liberal Democrat party and former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006.

Quotes

• There can be no place in a 21st-century parliament for people with 15th-century titles upholding 19th-century prejudices.
  • Quoted in the Independent (25 November 1998)

• Bosnia is under my skin. It's the place you cannot leave behind. I was obsessed by the nightmare of it all; there was this sense of guilt, and an anger that has become something much deeper over these last years.
  • As quoted in "Farewell, Sarajevo" (1 November 2005), The Guardian

• I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.
  • As quoted in "Farewell, Sarajevo" (1 November 2005), The Guardian

• My second job has been to try to use my power to create institutions of a modern state that could enter the European Union, and there was very little time. The door was closing, and I wanted to get Bosnia through before it shut.
  • As quoted in "Farewell, Sarajevo" (1 November 2005), The Guardian

• History teaches us these lessons for the interveners: leave your prejudices at home, keep your ambitions low, have enough resources to do the job, do not lose the golden hour, make security your first priority, involve the neighbours.
  • Radio series for the BBC (2007) [1]

Quotes about

• I agree with Paddy Ashdown when he said everybody in Britain should have the chance to be a somebody. But only one family can provide the head of state. We Liberal Democrats believe in opportunity for all. We believe in fairness, common sense. We believe in referenda on major constitutional issues. We do not believe that people should be born to rule, or that they should put up and shut up about decisions that affect their everyday lives.
  • Liz Truss, "Liz Truss speech at 1994 Liberal Democrat conference". 20 September 1994. Retrieved on 21 July 2022.