Jo Grimond
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| The Right Honourable Joseph Grimond Baron Grimond of Firth, CH, CBE, PC |
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| In office 12 May 1976 – 7 July 1976 |
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| Preceded by | Jeremy Thorpe |
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| Succeeded by | David Steel |
| In office 5 November 1956 – 17 January 1967 |
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| Preceded by | Clement Davies |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Thorpe |
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| Born | 29 July 1913 Fife, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 24 October 1993 (aged 80) Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
Joseph "Jo" Grimond, Baron Grimond (29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly in 1976.
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[edit] Early life
Grimond was born in St Andrews in Fife and was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford. He became a barrister, and in 1938 married Laura Bonham Carter, a granddaughter of former Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith.
[edit] Member of Parliament
After service in World War II, he entered Parliament in the 1950 general election as Liberal Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland, in Scotland, continuing to represent the constituency until he retired from politics in 1983. He was a life-long champion of Scottish devolution, and although he was often wary of the bureaucracy of the European Economic Community (EEC), was an early advocate of the EEC.
[edit] Leader of the Liberal Party
Grimond led the party through a difficult period in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The party he inherited commanded barely 2.5% of the vote. A man of considerable personal charm, charisma, and intelligence he was widely respected and inspired trust, and by the end of his tenure the Liberal party was once more a mainstream party. It was during his leadership that the first post-war Liberal revival took place- under Grimond the Liberals doubled their seats and won historic by-elections at Torrington in 1958, Orpington in 1962, and Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles in 1965. In 1967, he made way for a younger, more dynamic leader, Jeremy Thorpe. In 1976, when Thorpe was forced to resign because of a scandal, Grimond stepped in as caretaker leader until the election of a replacement, David Steel.
Among other posts, Grimond was a barrister and publisher in the 1930s, an army major during World War II, Secretary of the National Trust for Scotland from 1947 to 1949, and held the Chancellorships of the University of Edinburgh and the University of Kent at Canterbury (elected in 1970). His many books include The Liberal Future (1959, credited with reinvigorating radical liberalism as a coherent modern ideology), The Liberal Challenge (1963), and Memoirs (1979).
[edit] Retirement and death
On leaving parliament, he was created a life peer as Baron Grimond, of Firth in the County of Orkney. He remained devoted to his former parliamentary constituency, and was buried on the Orkney Islands.
[edit] Personal life
Jo Grimond was survived by his wife Laura. Laura was the wife then widow of a Life Peer, the sister of another Life Peer, the daughter of a Life Peeress, and the great-granddaughter of a hereditary peer of first creation.
He had four children:
- Grizelda "Grizel" Grimond, who had a daughter by the film and stage director Tony Richardson.
- John Grimond, a foreign editor of The Economist who married 1973 Katherine "Kate" Fleming (b. 1946), elder daughter of Peter Fleming and the actress Celia Johnson, and has three children with her. He is the main author of The Economist's style book.[1]
- Magnus Grimond, a journalist and respected financial correspondent.
- Andrew Grimond (b.1939), a sub-editor of the Scotsman, lived in Edinburgh until his death through suicide at the age of 26.
[edit] Further reading
- Peter Barberis, Liberal Lion: Jo Grimond, A Political Life (I.B. Taurus, 2005)
- Jo Grimond, Memoirs (Heinemann, 1979)
- Michael McManus, Jo Grimond: Towards the Sound of Gunfire (Birlinn, 2001)
[edit] External links
- Jo Grimond (Lord Grimond) 1913–93 biography from the Liberal Democrat History Group
[edit] Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Sir Basil Neven-Spence |
Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland 1950–1983 |
Succeeded by Jim Wallace |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Clement Davies |
Leader of the British Liberal Party 1956–1967 |
Succeeded by Jeremy Thorpe |
| Preceded by Jeremy Thorpe |
Leader of the British Liberal Party 1976 |
Succeeded by David Steel |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by James Robertson Justice |
Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1960–1963 |
Succeeded by James Robertson Justice |
| Preceded by Frank George Thomson |
Rector of the University of Aberdeen 1969–1972 |
Succeeded by Michael Barratt |
| Preceded by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent |
Chancellor of the University of Kent 1970–1990 |
Succeeded by Sir Robert Horton |
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