Iain Duncan Smith

The Right Honourable George Iain Duncan Smith (born April 9, 1954) is a British politician. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green, and was leader of the Conservative Party from September 12, 2001 to November 6, 2003. On October 29, 2003 he lost a vote of confidence in his leadership and stepped down eight days later when Michael Howard assumed the post, being the only candidate.

Early life

Duncan Smith uses the name Iain Duncan Smith and is commonly referred to as IDS. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of the World War II RAF ace Group Captain W. G. G. Duncan Smith by his wife Pamela, a ballerina, whom he married in 1946. Pamela's maternal grandmother was Ellen Oshey, a Japanese woman. Iain Duncan Smith is therefore one-eighth Japanese. He is also a distant relative of George Bernard Shaw, the playwright and pioneer socialist.

Related Topics:
Edinburgh - Scotland - World War II - RAF - W. G. G. Duncan Smith - Ballerina - Japan - George Bernard Shaw - Socialist

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Duncan Smith was educated at HMS Conway, a naval training school on the isle of Anglesey, where he played rugby union in the position of fly-half alongside Clive Woodward at centre, and later at Sandhurst military college. He then joined the Scots Guards in 1975, serving for six years including a spell in (then) Rhodesia and in Northern Ireland. He converted to Roman Catholicism as a teenager.

Related Topics:
HMS ''Conway'' - Naval - Anglesey - Rugby union - Clive Woodward - Sandhurst - Scots Guards - 1975 - Rhodesia - Northern Ireland

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On leaving the Guards, he joined the Conservative Party and also began to work for GEC in 1981. He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Fremantle, daughter of the 5th Baron Cottesloe, in 1982. They have four children who are apparently being raised at least nominally Roman Catholic (in the faith of their father). He fought his first electoral contest in the 1987 general election. He stood for his current seat (Chingford and Woodford Green) in the 1992 general election, succeeding Norman Tebbit on his retirement.

Related Topics:
GEC - 1981 - 1982 - 1987 general election - Chingford and Woodford Green - 1992 general election - Norman Tebbit

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