View source for Paddy Ashdown

{{short description|British politician (1941–2018)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             = The Lord Ashdown of {{nowrap|Norton-sub-Hamdon}}
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCMG|CH|KBE|PC}}
| image            = Paddy Ashdown (2005) (cropped).jpg
| alt              = Ashdown, 63, in a portrait photograph
| caption          = Formal portrait, 2005
| office           = [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats]]
| deputy           = {{plainlist|
* [[Russell Johnston]]
* [[Alan Beith]]
}}
| president        = {{plainlist|
* [[Ian Wrigglesworth]]
* Charles Kennedy
* Robert Maclennan
* [[Diana Maddock, Baroness Maddock|The Baroness Maddock]]
}}
| term_start       = 16 July 1988
| term_end         = 9 August 1999
| predecessor      = {{plainlist|
* [[David Steel]] ([[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]])
* [[Robert Maclennan]] ([[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]])
}}
| successor        = [[Charles Kennedy]]
| office1          = [[High Representative for&nbsp;Bosnia&nbsp;and&nbsp;Herzegovina]]
| term_start1      = 27 May 2002
| term_end1        = 31 January 2006
| predecessor1     = [[Wolfgang Petritsch]]
| successor1       = [[Christian Schwarz-Schilling]]
| office2          = [[European Union Special Representative]] {{awrap|for Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
| term_start2      = 3 June 2002
| term_end2        = 31 January 2006
| predecessor2     = ''Office established''
| successor2       = Christian Schwarz-Schilling
{{collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary offices
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| office           = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status           = [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_label       = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start       = 10 July 2001
| term_end         = 22 December 2018
| parliament1      = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP1 = Yeovil
| term_start1      = 9 June 1983
| term_end1        = 14 May 2001
| predecessor1     = [[John Peyton, Baron Peyton of Yeovil|John Peyton]]
| successor1       = [[David Laws]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_name       = Jeremy John Durham Ashdown
| nickname         = Paddy
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1941|02|27|df=y}}
| birth_place      = New Delhi, British India
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2018|12|22|1941|02|27|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Bristol]], England
| death_cause      = <!-- should only be included when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability -->
| resting_place    = [[Church of St Mary the Virgin, Norton-sub-Hamdon]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| party            = [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]
| otherparty       = {{plainlist|
* [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (before 1975)
* [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] (1975–1988)
}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Jane Courtenay|1962}}
| children         = 2
| occupation       = {{hlist|Diplomat|politician}}
| footnotes        = 
| awards           = <!-- For civilian awards - appears as "Awards" if |mawards= is not set -->
| signature        = 
<!--Military service-->
| allegiance       = <!-- United Kingdom -->
| branch           = [[Royal Marines]]
| serviceyears     = 1959–1972
| rank             = [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]]
| unit             = [[Special Boat Service]]
| commands         = 
| battles          = {{plainlist|
* [[Borneo confrontation]]
* [[Operation Banner]]
}}
}}

'''Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon'''{{efn|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=true|GCMG|CH|KBE|PC}}}} (27 February 1941{{snd}}22 December 2018), better known as '''Paddy Ashdown''', was a British politician and diplomat who served as [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats]] from 1988 to 1999. Internationally, he is recognised for his role as [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina]] from 2002 to 2006, following his vigorous lobbying for military action against [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] in the 1990s.

Ashdown had an interpretership qualification in [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] and was fluent in several other languages, including [[Malay language|Malay]], German, French and [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ashdown |first=Paddy |title=Paddy Ashdown: 'Learning six languages has changed my life' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/14/paddy-ashdown-language-learning-education |work=The Guardian |date=14 October 2014 |quote=I reply I have forgotten six … Malay … local language … among the Dayak people … two years learning Mandarin Chinese … [t]hen came German (briefly), French and Bosnian.}}</ref> After serving as a [[Royal Marine]] and [[Special Boat Service]] officer and as an intelligence officer in the [[UK security services]], Ashdown was elected [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency)|Yeovil]] in 1983 and was re-elected three times before retiring in 2001.

Ashdown was appointed [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) in the [[2006 New Year Honours]] and [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] (CH) in the [[2015 New Year Honours]]. In 2017, Ashdown was appointed [[Officer of the Legion of Honour]] by the French government.
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== Early life and career ==
Ashdown was the eldest of seven children: four brothers and two sisters.<ref name="Reuter-five-facts">{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL2179371320070621 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201042327/http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL2179371320070621 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 February 2013 |title=Five facts about Paddy Ashdown |publisher=Reuters |date=21 June 2007 |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> He was born in New Delhi, [[British Raj|British India]],<ref name="OHR-CV">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohr.int/ohr-info/hrs-dhrs/default.asp?content_id=28051|title=Curriculum Vitae: Paddy Ashdown|publisher=Office of the High Representative (OHR) and EU Special Representative (EUSR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina|date=27 May 2002|access-date=23 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110154937/http://www.ohr.int/ohr-info/hrs-dhrs/default.asp?content_id=28051|archive-date=10 November 2007}}</ref> on 27 February 1941<ref>{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Political Biography|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=20|chapter-url=https://www.questia.com/read/34683400/a-dictionary-of-political-biography|last=Kavanagh|first=Dennis|author-link=Dennis Kavanagh|chapter=Ashdown, Paddy|isbn=|access-date=7 September 2017|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921064758/http://www.questia.com/read/34683400/a-dictionary-of-political-biography|url-status=dead}}{{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Birthdays |newspaper=The Guardian |date=27 February 2014 |page=33}}{{link needed|date=October 2021}}</ref> to a family of soldiers and colonial administrators who spent their lives in India.<ref name="Action man bows out">{{cite news |title=Action man bows out |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/415405.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=9 August 1999 |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> His father was a [[lapsed Catholic]], and his mother a [[Protestant]]. His mother (née Hudson) was a nurse in the [[Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burkespeerage.com/|title=Burke's Peerage – The Official Website|work=burkespeerage.com}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2021}} Ashdown's father, John William Richard Durham Ashdown (1909–1980), was a [[British Indian Army]] officer who served in the [[14th Punjab Regiment]] and the [[Royal Indian Army Service Corps]], and in 1944 attained the rank of temporary lieutenant colonel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/IndianArmy_officers_A01.html|title=Officers of the Indian Army 1939–1945 – A|website=unithistories.com |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref>{{efn|During the 1940 [[Dunkirk retreat]], John Ashdown ignored an order to abandon the men of the 32nd Animal Transport Company (Mule) under his command, instead leading them to the port and on to one of the last ships to leave, without losing a single man. Although [[court-martial]]led for disobeying orders, he was exonerated and rose to the rank of colonel by the war's end.<ref>{{cite news|author-link=Patrick Wintour|first=Patrick|last= Wintour<!--, chief political correspondent--> |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/08/patrickwintour|title=Ashdown tells how father stood by Indian troops|newspaper=The Guardian|date=8 November 2000|access-date=30 April 2010|location=London}}</ref>}}

Ashdown was primarily brought up in Northern Ireland, where his father bought a farm in 1945<ref name="OHR-CV" /> near [[Comber]], County Down.<ref name="indep-edu">{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article162427.ece|title=An education in the life of Lord Ashdown: 'I was bullied early on, but then I learnt to fight'|first=Jonathan |last=Sale|work=The Independent|date=18 October 2001|access-date=23 November 2007|location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He was educated first at a local primary school, then as a weekly boarder at Garth House [[preparatory school (UK)|Preparatory School]] in [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]].<ref name="indep-edu" /> Finally, from the age of 11, he was educated at [[Bedford School]], an all-boys [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] (i.e. independent boarding school) in England, where his accent earned him the nickname "Paddy".<ref name="indep-edu" />

=== Royal Marines and Special Boat Section ===
After his father's business collapsed, Ashdown passed the naval scholarship examination to pay for his school fees,<ref name="TLCS">{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6077218.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518154138/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6077218.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2009|title=Lover, commando, spy&nbsp;– the making of Paddy Ashdown|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=12 April 2009|access-date=19 April 2009|location=London|first=Fiona|last=Hamilton}}</ref> but left before taking [[A-levels]] and joined the [[Royal Marines]] in 1959.<ref name="indep-edu" /> He served until 1972<ref name="OHR-CV" /> and retired with the rank of [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]]. He served in Borneo during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] and the [[Persian Gulf]],<ref name="Reuter-five-facts" /> before training as a [[Swimmer Canoeist]] in 1965, after which he joined the elite [[Special Boat Section]] (now named the Special Boat Service) and commanded a Section in the Far East.<ref name="OHR-CV" /> He then went to [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] in 1967 to undertake a full-time [[interpreter]]'s course in Chinese,<ref name="TLCS" /> and returned to the UK in 1970 when he was given command of a Royal Marine company in [[Belfast]].<ref name="OHR-CV" />

=== Intelligence officer and diplomat ===
Ashdown left the Royal Marines to join the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] (SIS or MI6).<ref name="TLCS" /><ref name="Waugh-Standard">{{cite news|url=http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/05/paddy-ashdown-secret-agent.html|title=Paddy Ashdown. Secret Agent|first=Paul |last=Waugh|work=Evening Standard|date=4 May 2010|access-date=5 May 2010|quote=I actually served in the Secret Intelligence Service<!-- with him and I know him as a perfectly nice man-->. |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507124647/http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/05/paddy-ashdown-secret-agent.html|archive-date=7 May 2010}}</ref> As [[diplomatic cover]], he worked for the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] as [[Diplomatic rank|first secretary]] to the [[Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations|United Kingdom mission to the United Nations]] in Geneva, Switzerland.<ref name="Roth-Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/mar/19/profiles.parliament|title=Sir Paddy Ashdown|first=Andrew |last=Roth|work=The Guardian|date=19 March 2001|access-date=22 November 2007|location=London|author-link=Andrew Roth}}</ref> At the UN, Ashdown was responsible for relations with several UN organisations, involved in the negotiation of several international treaties, and some aspects of the [[Helsinki Accords]] in 1975.<ref name="LibDem-WhosWho">{{cite web|url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/ashdown-of-norton-sub-hamdon.0002.html|title=Who's Who: Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon GCMG KBE|website=|publisher=Liberal Democrats |access-date=23 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018085654/http://libdems.org.uk/party/people/ashdown-of-norton-sub-hamdon.0002.html|archive-date=18 October 2007}}</ref>

== Political career ==
While in the Marines, Ashdown had been a supporter of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] but switched support to the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] in 1975. He had a comfortable life in Switzerland, where he lived with his wife Jane and their two children, Simon and Katherine, in a large house on the shores of [[Lake Geneva]], enjoying plenty of time for sailing, skiing and climbing.<ref name="Roth-Guardian" /> Ashdown decided to enter politics after the UK had two general elections in one year (those of [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February]] and [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October]] 1974) and the [[Three-Day Week]].<ref name="TLCS" /> He said that, "most of my friends thought it was utterly bonkers" to leave the diplomatic service, but that he had "a sense of purpose".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://search.ft.com/nonFtArticle?id=031024005178 |title=Bridge builder |first=John-Paul |last=Flintoff |work=Financial Times |date=24 October 2003 |access-date=23 November 2007 }}{{dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1976 Ashdown was selected as the Liberal Party's [[prospective parliamentary candidate]] in his wife's home constituency of [[Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency)|Yeovil]] in Somerset,<ref name="Roth-Guardian" /> and took a job with Normalair Garrett, then part of the Yeovil-based [[Westland Aircraft|Westland Group]]. Yeovil's Liberal candidate had been placed second in the February 1974<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge74a/i21.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031027172649/http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge74a/i21.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2003 |title=UK General Election results February 1974: Yeovil |work=Richard Kimber's political science resources |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> and third in the October 1974 general elections;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge74b/i21.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030831233849/http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge74b/i21.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 August 2003 |title=UK General Election results October 1974: Yeovil |work=Richard Kimber's political science resources |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> Ashdown's objective was to "squeeze" the local Labour vote to enable him to defeat the Conservatives,<ref name="Roth-Guardian" /> who had held the seat since its creation in [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Craig |first=F.W.S. |author-link=F. W. S. Craig |title=British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 |orig-year=1969 |edition=3rd |year=1983 |publisher=Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester, UK |isbn=0-900178-06-X}}</ref> He subsequently worked for Tescan, and was unemployed for a time after that firm's closure in 1981, before becoming a youth worker with [[Dorset County Council]]'s Youth Service, working on initiatives to help the young unemployed.<ref name="Action man bows out" /><ref name="LibDem-WhosWho" /> That position being an unpaid "volunteer" one, Ashdown was at the time classified as "long-term unemployed", having applied unsuccessfully for 150 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Zoe |author-link=Zoe Williams (writer) |title=Paddy Ashdown: 'I turned to my wife and said, it's not our country any more' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/16/paddy-ashdown-i-turned-to-my-wife-and-said-its-not-our-country-any-more|date=2016-09-16|work=The Guardian|access-date=2018-12-26|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Member of Parliament ===
At the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]], which returned the Conservatives to power, Ashdown regained second place, establishing a clear lead of 9% over the Labour candidate.<ref name="Kimber-1979">{{cite news |url=http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge79/i21.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040311172853/http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge79/i21.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 March 2004 |title=UK General Election results May 1979: Yeovil |work=Richard Kimber's political science resources |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> The Conservative majority of 11,382<ref name="Kimber-1979" /> was still large enough to be regarded as a [[safe seat]] when the sitting MP [[John Peyton, Baron Peyton of Yeovil|John Peyton]] stood down at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]] to be made a [[life peer]]. Ashdown had gained momentum after his years of local campaigning.<ref>{{cite book |title=Almanac of British Politics |first=Byron|last= Criddle |name-list-style=and |author2=Robert Waller |page=[https://archive.org/details/almanacofbritish0000wall_s7h8/page/841 841] |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=0-415-26833-8 |title-link=Almanac of British Politics }}</ref> The Labour vote fell to only 5.5% and Ashdown won the seat with a majority of over 3,000,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge83/i22.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040517034517/http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge83/i22.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2004 |title=UK General Election results June 1983: Yeovil |work=Richard Kimber's political science resources |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> a swing from the Conservatives of 11.9% against a national swing of 4% to the Conservatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://champions-speakers.co.uk/business-motivational-speakers/politics/lord-paddy-ashdown/|title=Lord Paddy Ashdown Politician and Elder Statesman|publisher=Champions plc|access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref>

==== In Parliament ====
Ashdown had long been on his party's social democratic wing, supporting the 1977 [[Lib–Lab pact]],<ref name="Roth-Guardian" /> and the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]]. In the early 1980s, he was a prominent campaigner against the deployment in Europe of American nuclear-armed [[cruise missile]]s, describing them at a [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]] rally in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in 1983 as "the front end of the whole anti-nuclear struggle. It is the weapon we {{em|have}} to stop."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.julianlewis.net/press_detail.php?id=78 |title=Nuclear record hard to defend |last=Lewis |first=Julian |author-link=Julian Lewis |work=Western Gazette |date=28 November 1996 |access-date=23 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009040234/http://www.julianlewis.net/press_detail.php?id=78 |archive-date=9 October 2007 }}</ref>

Shortly after entering the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], he was appointed SDP–Liberal Alliance spokesman on trade and industry and then on education.<ref name="LibDem-WhosWho" /> He opposed the privatisation of the [[Royal Ordnance Factories]] in 1984, criticised the [[Second Thatcher ministry|Thatcher government]] in 1986 for allowing the United States to bomb Libya from UK bases, and campaigned against the loss of trade union rights by workers at [[GCHQ]] in 1987.<ref name="Roth-Guardian" />

==== Leader of Liberal Democrats ====
[[File:PaddyAshdownCampaigning.jpg|thumb|Ashdown in [[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]] during the 1992 general election campaign]]
When the Liberal Party merged in 1988 with the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democrats]] to form the [[Social and Liberal Democrats]] (their name shortened in 1989 to "Liberal Democrats"), he was [[1988 Social and Liberal Democrats leadership election|elected as the new party's leader]] and made a [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Councillor]] in January 1989.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/pcouncil/pcouncil4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607022558/http://leighrayment.com/pcouncil/pcouncil4.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 June 2008 |title=Privy Councillors |work=Leigh Rayment's Privy Councillors Pages |access-date=23 November 2007}}</ref>

Ashdown led the Liberal Democrats into two general elections, in [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]] and [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]], and three European Parliament elections, in [[1989 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1989]], [[1994 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1994]] and [[1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1999]]. The Lib Dems failed to win any seats in the 1989 European Parliament election. They recorded a net loss of two seats in the 1992 general election when the party was still recovering from the after-effects of the 1988 merger. In 1994, the party gained its first two Members of the European Parliament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/1994-figures/european-elections-1994 |title=The European Elections in 1994 |website=Europarl.org.uk |publisher=UK Office of the European Parliament |access-date=15 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120080146/http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/1994-figures/european-elections-1994 |archive-date=20 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> At the 1997 election, the Liberal Democrats won 46 seats, their best performance since the Liberal Party in the 1920s. However, they took a smaller share of the vote than in the 1992 election.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/in_depth/election_battles/1997_over.stm |title=1997: Blair's landslide|work=BBC News |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> While the Liberal Democrats vote share decreased in the 1999 European Parliament election, the move from [[first-past-the-post]] to the [[D'Hondt method]] saw the party make a net gain of 8 seats.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/euros_99/regional_html/full_sop.stm|title=Euro Elections, Results – Great Britain and Northern Ireland|work=BBC News|access-date=8 June 2019}}</ref>

Between 1993 and 1997, he was a notable proponent of cooperation between the Liberal Democrats and "[[New Labour]]" and had regular secret meetings with [[Tony Blair]] to discuss the possibility of a [[coalition government]]. This was despite Labour's opinion poll showings from late 1992 onwards, virtually all suggesting that they would gain a majority at the next election, particularly in the first year or so of Blair's leadership following his appointment in mid-1994. The discussions began in early 1993, while the party was still being led by Blair's predecessor [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], who died suddenly in May 1994. After Blair was elected as Labour leader, the talks continued.<ref>{{cite web |title=Breaking politics and political news for Westminster and the UK – PoliticsHome.com |url=http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/top-ten-lib-dem-breakthrough-moments/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509003559/http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/top-ten-lib-dem-breakthrough-moments |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2010-05-09 |work=epolitix.com}}</ref>

There was no need for a coalition, as the 1997 general election ended in a Labour [[landslide victory]]. The election also saw a breakthrough for the Liberal Democrats despite receiving fewer votes than in 1992; they increased their representation from 18 to 46. A "Joint Cabinet Committee" (JCC), including senior Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians, was then created to discuss the implementation of the two parties' shared priorities for constitutional reform; its remit was later expanded to include other issues on which Blair and Ashdown saw scope for cooperation between the two parties. Ashdown's successor as Liberal Democrat leader, [[Charles Kennedy]], deliberately allowed the JCC to slip into abeyance until it effectively stopped meeting.<ref>{{cite news|last=Grice|first=Andrew|title=Charles Kennedy: 'There's a change in the way politics is conducted. Outside Westminster, nobody talks of left and right'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/charles-kennedy-theres-a-change-in-the-way-politics-is-conducted-outside-westminster-nobody-talks-of-left-and-right-580720.html|access-date=24 February 2011|newspaper=The Independent|date=22 September 2003|name-list-style=and |author2=Marie Woolf|location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

=== Resignation and peerage ===
Ashdown announced his intention to resign as Leader of the Liberal Democrats on 20 January 1999,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/259260.stm |work=BBC News | title=Ashdown to quit as leader | date=20 January 1999 |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> departing on 9 August that year following 11 years in the role, and was succeeded by Charles Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/415435.stm |work=BBC News | title=Kennedy to lead Lib Dems | date=9 August 1999 |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> In mid-1999, there was speculation that he would be appointed the new [[Secretary General of NATO]]; his lack of governmental experience meant that doubts were raised about his suitability. The post was ultimately filled by defence secretary [[George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen|George Robertson]].<ref name="Fitchett">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/15/news/15iht-allies.2.t_1.html | title = Paddy Ashdown of Britain Is Seen by Some As Leading Candidate for Secretary-General : Hunt for NATO Chief Moves Into New Phase | access-date = 18 April 2014 | last = Fitchett|first= Joseph | date = 15 July 1999 | work = [[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Ulbrich">{{cite news | url = http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/07/16/usn_LA0694.001.shtml | title = Secretary-general sought by NATO | access-date = 18 April 2014 | last = Ulbrich|first= Jeffrey | date = 16 July 1999 | agency = Associated Press | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012713/http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/07/16/usn_LA0694.001.shtml | archive-date = 19 April 2014 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Whitney">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/31/world/britain-nominates-its-defense-secretary-to-be-head-of-nato.html | title = Britain Nominates Its Defense Secretary to Be Head of NATO | access-date = 18 April 2014 | last= Whitney|first= Craig R. | date = 31 July 1999 | work = The New York Times}}</ref>

He was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) in 2000<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55879 |date=19 June 2000 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref> and after retiring from the Commons one month previously, he was created a life peer, the peerage being gazetted on 16 July 2001 as that of Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, of [[Norton-sub-Hamdon]] in the [[County of Somerset]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=56275 |date=16 July 2011 |page=8373}}</ref> In the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 election]], the Yeovil seat was retained for the Liberal Democrats by [[David Laws]]. Likewise, in 2001, the [[University of Bath]] conferred on Ashdown an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree.<ref name="UB">{{cite web |title=Honorary Graduates 2000 to 2009 |url=https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/honorary-graduates-2000-to-2009/ |publisher=University of Bath |access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref>

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 2001, when he was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]] at [[BBC Television Centre]].<ref>{{cite episode |title=Paddy Ashdown |date=2001-10-31 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6118046/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |series=This Is Your Life }}</ref>

== High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina ==
{{multiple image
 | total_width = 350
 | image1      = 2004-07-31 powell sarajevo ashdown 600.jpg
 | alt1        = Ashdown and Colin Powell
 | caption1    = Ashdown (second from right) with US secretary of state [[Colin Powell]] in 2004
 | image2      = Defense.gov News Photo 041108-D-2987S-162.jpg
 | alt2        = Ashdown and Donald Rumsfeld
 | caption2    = Ashdown accepting the [[Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service]] from US defence secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]] in 2004
}}

After leaving frontline British politics, he accepted the post of the [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina]] on 27 May 2002,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/05/28/wash28.xml |title=Ashdown takes over in Bosnia |first=Alex|last= Todorovic |work=The Telegraph |date=27 May 2002 |access-date=23 November 2007 |location=London}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> reflecting his long-time advocacy of international intervention in that region. He succeeded [[Wolfgang Petritsch]] in the position created under the [[Dayton Agreement]]. During his time as High Representative between 2002 and 2006,<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|last=O'Reilly|first=Maria|date=2012-12-01|title=Muscular Interventionism|journal=International Feminist Journal of Politics |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=529–548 |doi=10.1080/14616742.2012.726096 |s2cid=146823558|issn=1461-6742}}</ref> he strengthened the central state institutions, brought in statewide legal bodies such as the [[State Investigation and Protection Agency]] and brought the two ethnic armies under a central civilian command, and moved Bosnia-Herzegovina toward EU integration.<ref name="auto" /><ref>{{cite press release|title=High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Briefs Security Council, Noting Recent Transfer to Hague of Five Major War Crime Indictees|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2005/sc8340.doc.htm|publisher=United Nations|access-date=21 March 2017 |date=2005-03-23}}</ref> He was sometimes denigrated as "the [[Viceroy]] of Bosnia" by critics of his work as High Representative.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3578865/Message-from-America-were-independent.html|title=Message from America: we're independent |first=Mark |last=Steyn |work=The Telegraph |date=7 July 2002 |access-date=23 November 2007 |location=London|author-link=Mark Steyn }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/jun/22/gordonbrown.labour |title=Team Gordon: Michael White suggests his dream team for a Brown cabinet |first=Michael |last=White |work=The Guardian |date=22 June 2007 |access-date=23 November 2007|author-link= Michael White (journalist) |location=London}}</ref>

=== Witness for the prosecution at Milošević trial ===
On 14 March 2002, Ashdown testified as a witness for the prosecution at the [[trial of Slobodan Milošević]] at the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]].<ref name="pages2262-2406">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/dragomir_milosevic/trans/en/070216IT.htm |title=Milošević trial transcript 14 March 2002 Page 2331 Line 24 |publisher=United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |date=5 March 2007|access-date=24 February 2011}}</ref> He said that he was on the Kosovo–Albania border near [[Junik]] in June 1998.<ref name="pages2262-2406" /> From this location, through his binoculars, Ashdown claimed to have seen [[Serbian Army|Serbian forces]] shelling several villages.<ref name="pages2262-2406" /> In July 2005, a defence witness, General [[Božidar Delić]], claimed by demonstrating with a topographical map of the area that Ashdown could not have been able to see the areas that he claimed to be able to see as hills, mountains and thick woods would have obstructed his view.<ref>{{cite web |mode=cs2 |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/050707IT.htm |title=Milošević trial transcript 7 July 2005 Page 42036 Line 7 |access-date=2021-03-04 |postscript=; }} {{cite web |publisher=United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |url=https://www.un.org/icty/transe54/050712ED.htm |title=12 July 2005 Page 42205 Line 1 |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=19 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419211204/http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/050712ED.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the Delić claims, Ashdown supplied the Tribunal with grid coordinates and a cross-section of the ground indicating that he could see the locations concerned.<ref name="pages44650-44764">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/050928ED.htm |title=Milošević trial transcript 28 September 2005 Page 44684 Line 1 |publisher=United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |date=5 March 2007|access-date=24 February 2011}}</ref> These coordinates indicated he was on the Kosovo–Albania border, which was a sealed border at the time.<ref name="pages44650-44764" /> The prosecution also used new maps and topographical cross-sections indicating Ashdown's location, but their accuracy was challenged by Delić, for the location of a village was different from that shown in other maps of the area.<ref name="pages44650-44764" />

== Retirement ==
[[File:Paddy Ashdown.jpg|thumb|Ashdown in 2016]]
In retirement, Ashdown became a regular voice for the Liberal Democrats. He publicly supported military strikes in Syria in 2013 and said he was ashamed after Parliament voted against them.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10275565/Syria-crisis-Paddy-Ashdown-ashamed-of-Britain-over-Commons-vote.html|title=Syria crisis: Paddy Ashdown 'ashamed' of Britain over Commons vote|first=Claire|last=Carter|date=30 August 2013|work=The Telegraph |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> At the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]] he appeared on the BBC soon after the announcement of the exit poll which predicted that the Liberal Democrats would be reduced from 57 MPs to 10. Ashdown said he would eat his hat if the exit poll was correct. The result was that the Liberal Democrats returned eight MPs, but the technical difference from the exit poll was not enough to save him from several requests to carry out his vow. Some commentators suggested humorously that this was an example of Liberal Democrats breaking their promises in response to U-turns conducted in the coalition government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11591436/Paddy-Ashdown-I-will-eat-my-hat-if-that-poll-is-right.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510193800/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11591436/Paddy-Ashdown-I-will-eat-my-hat-if-that-poll-is-right.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2015 |title=Video: Paddy Ashdown: I will 'eat my hat' if that poll is right |work=The Telegraph |date=8 May 2015 |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> The following day after the election, on the BBC's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'' programme, Ashdown was presented with a chocolate hat that he later ate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11594419/Lord-Ashdown-and-Alastair-Campbell-forced-to-eat-their-chocolate-hat-and-kilt.html|title=Lord Ashdown and Alastair Campbell forced to eat their (chocolate) hat and kilt|last=Prince|first=Rosa|work=The Telegraph|date=9 May 2015|access-date=16 May 2015}}</ref>

=== Offer of Cabinet post ===
In June 2007, the BBC reported that Ashdown had been offered and rejected the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] post of [[Northern Ireland secretary]] by incoming Labour Party prime minister [[Gordon Brown]]. Liberal Democrat leader [[Sir Menzies Campbell]] had already ruled out the idea that members of his party would take seats in a Brown Cabinet, but, according to the reports, Brown still approached Ashdown with the offer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6224862.stm |title=Brown offered Ashdown Cabinet job |work=BBC News |date=21 June 2007 |access-date=22 November 2007}}</ref>

=== Offer of Afghanistan post ===
Ashdown was later asked by US secretary of state [[Condoleezza Rice]] and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take charge of the Allied effort in [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7140551.stm |title=Dismantling the Taleban is the aim |first=Paul |last=Reynolds |work=BBC News |date=12 December 2007 |access-date=23 November 2007 |quote=The name of Lord (Paddy) Ashdown, who ran Bosnia-Herzegovina after the civil war, has been mentioned.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Abramowitz |first=Michael |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601823.html?hpid=topnews |title=Bush Faces Pressure to Shift War Priorities: As Iraq Calms, Focus Turns to Afghanistan |name-list-style=and |author2=Peter Baker |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=17 December 2007 |access-date=23 November 2007 |quote= European newspapers have focused on Paddy Ashdown, a British politician and envoy, but a former senior military officer said his appointment would be considered controversial and seems unlikely.}}</ref> though an unnamed source is quoted in a January 2008 [[Reuters]] report indicating that Ashdown was also approached by UN secretary-general [[Ban Ki-moon]] and met with the Afghan president [[Hamid Karzai]] secretly in Kuwait to discuss the post which he later accepted.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1664024720080116?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717030846/http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1664024720080116?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2012 |title=Ashdown accepts job as U.N. Afghan envoy |first=Michael |last=Abramowitz |name-list-style=and |author2=Peter Baker |work=Reuters |date=16 January 2008 |access-date=16 January 2008 |quote=Yes, he has accepted the job<!--," the source said of an agreement between Ashdown, 66, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon-->.}}</ref> He later decided against taking the role after gleaning that Afghanistan preferred General [[Sir John McColl]] over him.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7211667.stm |title=Ashdown pulls out of Afghan role |work=BBC News |date=27 January 2008 |access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref> On 7 March, Norwegian diplomat [[Kai Eide]] was appointed as the UN representative for Afghanistan, stating "I'm not Paddy Ashdown, but don't under-estimate me."<ref>{{cite news|last=Leithead |first=Alastair |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7318452.stm |title= UN's new Afghan envoy begins work |work=BBC News |date=28 March 2008|access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref>

=== Other positions ===
Ashdown was a member of the Governing Council of [[Interpeace]], an international peacebuilding organisation,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Interpeace |url=http://www.interpeace.org/index.php/about-us/governing-council |title=Governing Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401160743/http://www.interpeace.org/index.php/about-us/governing-council |archive-date=1 April 2015 |access-date= 7 February 2012}}</ref> and also served as President of [[Chatham House]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/patron-presidents-council-and-directors |title=Patrons, Presidents, Council and Directors|publisher=Chatham House|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911081154/http://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/patron-presidents-council-and-directors |archive-date=11 September 2012 |access-date= 29 September 2012}}</ref> He later chaired the Liberal Democrats' 2015 general election team.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Paddy Ashdown to chair Lib Dem 2015 election team |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-19733918 |work=BBC News |date=26 September 2012 |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref>

In 2016, Ashdown founded [[More United]] alongside several other public figures in the [[aftermath of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]].<ref name=businessinsider /> More United is a liberal and progressive cross-party political movement.<ref name=businessinsider>{{cite news |last=Shead |first=Sam |title=Paddy Ashdown has launched a tech-driven political startup called More United that will crowdfund MPs across all parties |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/paddy-ashdown-has-launched-a-tech-driven-political-startup-called-more-united-2016-7 |access-date=23 December 2018 |work=Business Insider |date=24 July 2016}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Official portrait of Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Parliamentary portrait by [[Chris McAndrew]], March 2018]]

Ashdown married Jane Courtenay in 1962. The couple had a son, Simon; a daughter, Katharine; and three grandchildren. In 1992, following the press becoming aware of a stolen document relating to a divorce case, he disclosed a five-month affair with his secretary, Patricia Howard, five years earlier from which he acquired the press nickname "Paddy Pantsdown".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/oct/21/uk.politicalnews|title=Wife knew about 'Paddy Pantsdown' affair|first=Susie|last=Boniface|date=21 October 2000|work=The Guardian |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> His career and marriage both survived the political and tabloid storm, with his wife forgiving him.<ref name="Roth-Guardian" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/jan/21/liberaldemocrats.uk1 |title=End of the Ashdown era  |first=Lucy |last=Ward |work=The Guardian |date=21 January 1999 |access-date=22 November 2007 |location=London}}</ref>

Ashdown supported [[Yeovil Town F.C.|Yeovil Town]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cowlin |first=Chris |date=5 December 2007 |title=Celebrities' Favourite Football Teams |location=Essex |publisher=Apex Publishing Ltd |page=3 |isbn=978-1-904444-84-8 }}</ref>  He was a member of the [[National Liberal Club]].<ref>{{cite web|title=National Liberal Club elects its first ever woman chairman|url=http://www.libdemvoice.org/national-liberal-club-elects-its-first-ever-woman-chairman-50657.html|work=Liberal Democratic Voice|access-date=18 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104053214/http://www.libdemvoice.org/national-liberal-club-elects-its-first-ever-woman-chairman-50657.html|archive-date=4 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Death and funeral ===
Ashdown was diagnosed with [[bladder cancer]] in October 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last=Heffer |first=Greg |title=Ex-Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown diagnosed with bladder cancer |url=https://news.sky.com/story/ex-liberal-democrat-leader-paddy-ashdown-diagnosed-with-bladder-cancer-11542693 |publisher=Sky News |date=2 November 2018 |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref><ref name="BBC death"/> He died on 22 December at [[Southmead Hospital]] in Bristol,<ref name=ODNB /> at the age of 77.<ref name="BBC death">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46662546 |title=Ex-Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown dies aged 77 |work=BBC News |date=22 December 2018 |access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref>

On 10 January 2019, a funeral service was held at [[Church of St Mary the Virgin, Norton-sub-Hamdon]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Paddy Ashdown's funeral held in Somerset |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-46822389 |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=BBC News |date=10 January 2019}}</ref> and he was buried in the churchyard.<ref name=ODNB /> A service of thanksgiving was held for him at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 10 September.<ref>{{cite news|last=Davies|first=Caroline|title='A man for ideals': former PMs pay tribute to Paddy Ashdown|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/10/pms-pay-tribute-paddy-ashdown-tony-blair-david-cameron-john-major-service-lib-dem-leader|date=2019-09-10|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-09-28|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lord Ashdown remembered |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-news/paddy-ashdown |access-date=2022-06-13 |publisher=Westminster Abbey |date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

== Honours and awards ==

=== National honours ===
{| style="margin: auto;"
| [[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|x30px|alt=Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
| [[File:Order of the Companions of Honour Ribbon.gif|x30px|alt=Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]]
| [[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.svg|x30px|alt=Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
|}
{| style="margin: auto;"
| [[File:Naval General Service Medal 1915 BAR.svg|x30px|alt=Naval General Service Medal with Borneo Clasp]]
| [[File:General Service Medal 1962 BAR.svg|x30px|alt=General Service Medal with Northern Ireland Clasp]]
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! Date
! Ribbon
! Honour
! Letters
|-
| rowspan="2" {{Unknown|align=left}}
| [[File:Naval General Service Medal 1915 BAR.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | [[Naval General Service Medal (1915)|Naval General Service Medal]] with Borneo Clasp<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Busby |first=Mattha |date=2018-12-23 |title=Political figures celebrate Paddy Ashdown's energy, bravery and humour |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/23/political-figures-celebrate-paddy-ashdowns-energy-bravery-and-humour |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}}
| rowspan="2" {{n/a}}
|-
| [[File:General Service Medal 1962 BAR.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | [[General Service Medal (1962)|General Service Medal]] with Northern Ireland Clasp<ref name=":0" />{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}}
|-
| [[2000 Birthday Honours|19 June 2000]]
| [[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]]
| KBE
|-
| [[2006 New Year Honours|31 December 2005]]
| [[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=57855 |date=31 December 2005 |page=N3 |supp=y}}</ref>
| GCMG
|-
| [[2015 New Year Honours|31 December 2014]]
| [[File:Order of the Companions of Honour Ribbon.gif|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | Member of the [[Order of the Companions of Honour]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61092 |supp=y |page=N28 |date=31 December 2014}}</ref>
| CH
|}

=== Foreign honours ===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! Country
! Year
! class=unsortable | Ribbon
! class=unsortable | Honour
|-
| {{flagicon|France|1974}}
| 2017
| [[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | Officer of the [[Legion of Honour]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Experience for Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/258/experience |website=MPs and Lords |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon|United States}}
| 2004
| [[File:US DoD Distinguished Public Service Award BAR.svg|40px|border|class=noviewer]]
! scope="row" | [[Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defense.gov/photos/newsphoto.aspx?newsphotoid=5671 |title=Archived copy |access-date=15 September 2024 |archive-date=26 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226060558/http://www.defense.gov/photos/newsphoto.aspx?newsphotoid=5671 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|}

=== Appointments ===
*[[Life peer]] as Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon in the [[House of Lords]] ([[2001 Dissolution Honours|10 July 2001]])<ref>{{London Gazette |date=16 July 2001 |issue=56275 |page=8373}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In 2011, Ashdown narrated the [[BBC Timewatch|BBC ''Timewatch'']] documentary ''[[The Most Courageous Raid of WWII]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Glenda |date=31 October 2011 |title=Paddy Ashdown: I used to think the party of Gladstone would end with Ashdown |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/8856476/Paddy-Ashdown-I-used-to-think-the-party-of-Gladstone-would-end-with-Ashdown.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 December 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

[[Donald Sumpter]] portrays Ashdown in the 2015 [[Channel 4]] television film ''[[Coalition (film)|Coalition]]''.<ref name=mcgurk>{{cite news |last=McGurk |first=Stuart |title=Channel 4's Coalition drama: who's who? |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2015-03/18/channel-4-coalition-drama-david-cameron-nick-clegg-gordon-brown |work=GQ |date=18 March 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy |access-date=8 March 2021 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140146/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2015-03/18/channel-4-coalition-drama-david-cameron-nick-clegg-gordon-brown }}</ref>

== Published works ==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2000
  | title       = The Ashdown Diaries 1988–1997
  | volume      = 1
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = Penguin
  | isbn        = 0-14-029775-8
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2002
  | orig-year   = 2001
  | title       = The Ashdown Diaries 1997–1999
  | volume      = 2
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = Penguin
  | isbn        = 0-14-029776-6
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2008
  | orig-year   = 2007
  | title       = Swords and Ploughshares: Building Peace in the 21st Century
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  | isbn        = 978-0-297-85303-9
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2010
  | orig-year   = 2009
  | title       = A Fortunate Life: The Autobiography of Paddy Ashdown
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = Aurum
  | isbn        = 978-1-84513-419-8
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2015
  | orig-year   = 2011
  | title       = The Cruel Victory: The French Resistance, D-Day and the Battle for the Vercors 1944
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = William Collins
  | isbn        = 978-0-00-752081-7
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2012
  | title       = A Brilliant Little Operation: The Cockleshell Heroes and the Most Courageous Raid of World War 2
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = Aurum
  | isbn        = 978-1-84513-701-4
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2017
  | orig-year   = 2016
  | title       = Game of Spies – The Secret Agent, the Traitor and the Nazi
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = William Collins
  | isbn        = 978-0-00-814084-7
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last        = Ashdown
  | first       = Paddy
  | author-mask = 1
  | year        = 2018
  | title       = Nein!: Standing Up to Hitler 1935–1944
  | location    = London
  | publisher   = William Collins
  | isbn        = 978-0-00-825704-0
  }}
{{refend}}

== See also ==
* [[Hong Kong Watch]], former Patron

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB
  | doi         = 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380402
  | title       = Ashdown, Jeremy John Durham [Paddy], Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (1941–2018), politician
  | first       = John M.
  | last        = Campbell
  | date        = 10 March 2022
  }}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Paddy Ashdown}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061016202308/http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/ashdown-of-norton-sub-hamdon.html Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon profile] at the site of Liberal Democrats
* {{UK Peer links | parliament = lords/lord-ashdown-of-norton-sub-hamdon/258 | hansard = mr-paddy-ashdown | hansardcurr = 3804 | guardian = paddy-ashdown | publicwhip = Lord_Ashdown_of_Norton-sub-Hamdon | theywork = lord_ashdown_of_norton-sub-hamdon | record = Paddy-Ashdown/1787 | bbc = 26670.stm | journalisted = paddy-ashdown }}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/paddyashdown Column archive] at ''The Guardian''
* {{C-SPAN|10686}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* [http://archives.lse.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=ASHDOWN Catalogue] of the papers of Paddy Ashdown at [http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/archive/Default.htm London School of Economics Archives]
* [http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=638 "After Iraq&nbsp;– Shall we ever intervene again?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185629/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=638 |date=30 September 2007 }}, lecture given at [[Gresham College]], 15 May 2007 {{link note|note=download as video or audio files}}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2009/04/090407_theforum_220309.shtml Audio: Lord Paddy Ashdown in conversation] on the [[BBC World Service]] discussion show ''[[The Forum (radio programme)|The Forum]]''
* {{TED speaker}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33440958 Obituary] at [[BBC News Online]]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/gallery/2018/dec/22/paddy-ashdown-a-political-life-in-pictures A political life in pictures] at ''The Guardian''

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