Gregor Grant-Suttie today announces the sad passing of his grandfather, Menzies “Ming” Campbell, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Ming grew up in Glasgow, was educated at Hillhead High School and went on to the University of Glasgow, where he was a contemporary of both John Smith and Donald Dewar studying Law and debating in the Union.
Ming ran the 200m for the GB team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and became 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 an association with the Scottish Liberal Party which he had held since University. In 1975 he became Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party, and in 1982 a Q.C.
In 1987 Ming won the constituency of North East Fife, for decades a safe Conservative seat with a majority of 1,447. Ming and the local team achieved large Liberal Democrat majorities as his local, national and international profile grew.
In Parliament he served as a defence and foreign affairs spokesman, becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in 1997, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2003 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats from March 2006 until October 2007.
From 2006 he was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, and from 2015 a member of the House of Lords. Knighted in 2004, he became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2013, bestowed on just 65 people by the monarch.
He was married to his wife Elspeth for more than 50 years of marriage until her death in 2023, describing her as “my constant political companion, always my encouragement and forever my first line of defence”.
Ming passed in London after a period of respite care, before planning to return to Scotland, at the care facility Kyn Hurlingham. He died peacefully in the presence of his grandson; one of his final days was spent watching the Liberal Democrats Party Conference, and enjoying watching video messages from political friends.
His family would like to thank his care facility, Kyn Hurlingham, for their exceptional care and attention over the last few months.
Gregor Grant-Suttie said:
Ming achieved a lot through his life, across sport, law and politics. But the myriad of accolades and awards he collected in his professional life paled in comparison to his achievements as a husband, father figure, grandfather, and friend.
He was a rare breed of Scotsman whose contribution and ideas spanned so much further than his home country’s borders; his level of thinking around issues that were international, particularly around defence, gave Scotland the ability to be extremely proud of one of their own, whose ideas were so much larger than narrowly focused UK politics.
He was of a generation where hard work and improving oneself through education were prioritised, while the modern day notion of relative standards versus others was alien to him – in every step of his life he only ever compared himself against his own exceptionally high standards.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:
Ming Campbell was one of the most respected politicians of his generation.
The first political thing I ever did was to deliver leaflets for Ming on the morning of his first election to Parliament in 1987. He was my MP, he was my mentor and he was my friend.
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