David Steel

The Lord Steel of Aikwood
Official portrait, 2020
Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
In office
12 May 1999 – 7 May 2003
MonarchElizabeth II
Deputy
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byGeorge Reid
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
In office
3 March 1988 – 16 July 1988
Serving with Robert Maclennan
Preceded by
  • Himself (Lib.Tooltip Liberal Party (UK))
  • Robert Maclennan (SDPTooltip Social Democratic Party (UK))
Succeeded byPaddy Ashdown
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
7 July 1976 – 16 July 1988
Deputy
President
Preceded byJo Grimond (acting)
Succeeded byPaddy Ashdown (Leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats)
Chief Whip of the Liberal Party
In office
18 June 1970 – 7 July 1976
Leader
Preceded byEric Lubbock
Succeeded byCyril Smith
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Lords
Life peerage
6 June 1997 – 27 March 2020
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Lothians
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Member of Parliament
for Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale
Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles (1965–1983)
In office
25 March 1965 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byCharles Donaldson
Succeeded byMichael Moore
Personal details
Born
David Martin Scott Steel

(1938-03-31) 31 March 1938 (age 86)
Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Political partyIndependent (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
Judith MacGregor
(m. 1962)
Children3
ParentDavid Steel
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Signature

David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician.[1] Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leader of the Liberal Party, from 1976 to 1988. His tenure spanned the duration of the alliance with the Social Democratic Party, which began in 1981 and concluded with the formation of the Liberal Democrats in 1988.[1]

Steel served as a Member of the UK Parliament for 32 years, from 1965 to 1997, and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2003, during which time he was the parliament's Presiding Officer. He was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer from 1997 to 2020. Steel resigned from the House of Lords after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused him of an "abdication of responsibility" over his failure to investigate allegations of child sex abuse against the former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Steel of Aikwood, Baron, (David Martin Scott Steel) (born 31 March 1938)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u36053. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. ^ "David Steel quits Lib Dems after child abuse inquiry report". The Guardian. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.