Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell dies aged 84

The former liberal democratic leader Lord Menzies Campbell died at the age of 84.

Ming, as he was widely known, directed the liberal Democrats from 2006 to 2007 and was the deputy of North East Fife in Westminster for 28 years.

In his first race as a sprinter, he kept the 100 -meter record from the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1974 and was executed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, being called the Flying Scotsman.

Lib dem -leader Ed Davey described Campbell as “a dedicated public servant and a true liberal giant.”

He said: “His leadership of principles that opposes the Iraq war was a mark of his morals, courage and wisdom.

“But more than that, he was a warm and affectionate friend and friendly friend. We will miss him terrible.”

Campbell died peacefully in London after a period of relief care. His grandson was with him.

His family said that one of his last days was to see the Democrat Liberal Conference and enjoy watching video messages from political friends.

Campbell appeared for the first time as a candidate for the Liberal Party in 1974, but did not win its Constitution until 1987.

He made his name as a spokesman for Foreign Affairs, a position that hero for 14 years and was a renowned critic of the Iraq war.

He became a member of the House of Lores in 2015. His official title was Baron Campbell or Pittenweem.

Expressing his condolences, the Prime Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, said that Campbell was one of the “most beloved political figures” in the country.

He said that Campbell was “a passionate believer in a better scotland” but also an internationalist strong, anxious to build consensus and find common land.

Swinney said: “Those who enter the public service today could learn a lot from their style, always Franco in what he believed, but never anything other than respectful, polite and polite with their political opponents.”

The Scottish liberal democratic leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said that Campbell was one of the “most respected politicians of his generation.”

He said: “The first political thing I did was to deliver brochures for Ming in the morning of his first election to Parliament in 1987.

“He was my parliamentarian, it was my mentor and was my friend. From the Olympic track to Westminster banks, his contribution to public life will be remembered for a long time.”

Sir Nick Clegg, who successfully successful him as a liberal democratic leader, said he had great interest and experience in foreign matters.

He said that he was quite “in the passage” with conventional political thought in this area, which makes his intervention in the Iraq war more impression.

On a personal level, he said he visited him earlier this month in an elderly home and was beaten for his “unlimited and incalfied devotion” to his late wife Elspeth.

“Hello, he talked about when they were for the first time. It was quite wonderful. You could see that it was transported to the first time I looked at it,” he touched the world of BBC in one.

Wendy Chamberlain, current deputy of Fife, said Campbell “remained a significant figure” in the area.

She added: “Her contributions to our communities, to the University of St Andrews, as well as to Scotland and the United Kingdom were immeasurable.

“Although he found the death of his beloved Elspeth difficult, instead of retiring, until the last weeks of his life, he was still traveling to London to contribute to the House of Lords.”

Born at Walter Menzies Campbell on May 22, 1941, Cambell was raised in a Glasgow house.

He was educated in Hillhead High School and was at the University of Glasgow, where he was contemporary of John Smith and Donald Dewar who studied law and debated in La Unión.

Hello, he also attended Stanford University in California duration, the Vietnam War and then became a defender.

He was called to the Scottish bar in 1968 and did a quality control (literally KC) in 1982. The great law is a lucrative career and continued practical during the time his time in politics.

His wife of more than 50 years, Elspeth, died in June 2023, described her as her “constant political partner, always my breath and forever my first line of defense.”

The couple married in June 1970, only three months after the first meeting.

Duration in his athletic career, Campbell captained the British male team at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica.

A year later, he established a new British record of 100m of 10.2 seconds, surpassing a young OJ Simpson in the process. The record was until 1972.

At one point it was known as “the fastest white man on the planet.”

Menzies Campbell’s contribution to our policy was much greater than his short period as the party leader suggests.

His was an extremely well informed voice in defense and foreign affairs, which was fundamental for the embarrassment of public debate and after the Iraq war.

He and his late wife Elspeth were the best political company with a great idea of ​​Westminster’s problems and characters.

In many ways, Elspeth, more was ambitious for the husband than him for him. His period as a party leader was not happy.

He was in the recurrence of a persistent ageism: he joined as a grandfather figure with his best days behind him compared to rival leaders such as Tony Blair and David Cameron.

When appearing on television for an interview, he always insisted on crying a draw because he felt what his voters would expect.

But I knew that it didn’t spend much time before he resigned.

It was his wisdom, experience and courtesy that were his greatest strengths and thesis were undervalued qualities, his time lasted at the top.