Sir Menzies Campbell, former Liberal Democrat Leader and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, is one of the most respected and successful politicians of his generation.
As well as politics Ming, as he is known, was also a successful university level athlete, running the 200m for the GB team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and becoming captain of the UK Athletics Team, 1965-66. He held the British 100m record from 1967 to 1974.
In his professional legal life, Ming was called to the Scottish Bar as an Advocate in 1968, but continued his association with the Scottish Liberal Party which he had followed since University. In 1975 he became Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party, and in 1982 a Q.C.
Ming is a strong and effective grassroots campaigner. In the General Elections of 1979 and 1983, Ming worked the constituency of North East Fife, which was a safe Conservative seat for decades.
Each time he ran, he reduced the Tory majority, bringing the Liberals closer to winning, until 1987 when Ming won with a majority of 1,447. Since then Ming and the local team have achieved a Liberal Democrat majority of more than 12,500 as his local, national and international profile has grown.
In Parliament he has served primarily as a defence and foreign affairs spokesman, becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs since 1997 and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2003.
In 2004, he was knighted for services to Parliament and in 2006 he became the leader of the Liberal Democrats until October 2007.
Ming currently serves on both the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Security and Intelligence Committee at Westminster.
