Born 1938; educated Prince of Wales School, Nairobi, and George Watson's College, Edinburgh University; President, Edinburgh University Liberals, 1959, and the Students' Representative Council, 1960; Assistant Secretary, Scottish Liberal Party, 1962-1964; BBC television interviewer in Scotland, 1964-1965; Liberal (later Liberal Democrat) MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, 1965-1983, and Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, 1983-1997; President, Anti-Apartheid Movement of Great Britain, 1966-1969; Member, Parliamentary Delegation to the UN General Assembly, 1967; Chairman, Shelter in Scotland, 1969-1973; Liberal Chief Whip, 1970-1975; Member, British Council of Churches, 1971-1975; Council of Management, Centre for Studies in Social Policy, 1971-1976; Advisory Council, European Discussion centre, 1971-1976; Leader of the Liberal Party, 1976-1988; Rector, Edinburgh University, 1982-1985; Chubb Fellow, Yale University, USA, 1987; KBE, 1990; Co-Founder, Social and Liberal Democrats, 1988; President, Countryside Movement, 1995-; President, Liberal International, 1994-1996; created Life Peer, 1997; Liberal Democrat Member and Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-. Publications: No entry: the background and implications of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act (C Hurst and Co, London, 1969); The Liberal way forward (Liberal Publication Department, London, 1975); A new majority for a new parliament (Liberal Publications Department, London, 1978); The high ground of politics (Liberal Publication Department, 1979); A house divided: the Lib-Lab Pact and the future of British politics (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980); Labour at 80: time to retire (Liberal Publication Department, London, 1980); Partners in one nation: a new vision of Britain 2000 (Bodley Head, London, 1985); The decade of realignment: the leadership speeches of David Steel (Hebden Royd Publications, Hebden Bridge, 1986); Sharing profits: the partnership path to economic recovery (Hebden Royd Publications, Hebden Bridge, 1986); Mary Stuart's Scotland (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1987); The time has come: partnership for progress (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1987); Against Goliath (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1989); Border country (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1985).
From the guide to the STEEL, David Martin Scott, b 1938, Baron Steel of Aikwood, politician, 1966-1999, (British Library of Political and Economic Science)
