Douglas Hurd is a politician, biographer and novelist who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, as Minister for Europe (1979-83), Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1984-85), Home Secretary (1985-89) and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1989-95). His previous books include his MEMOIRS, ROBERT PEEL: A BIOGRAPHY and, with Edward Young, CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS: THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY - 200 YEARS OF ARGUMENT, SUCCESS AND FAILURE and DISRAELI: OR, THE TWO LIVES.
Edward Young gained a first-class degree in history from Clare College, Cambridge, and won a Mellon Scholarship to Yale where he studied history and international relations as part of the Grand Strategy Program.
He has since worked as a speechwriter for David Cameron and as Chief of Staff to the Conservative Party Chairman. At the 2017 General Election, he stood as the Conservative candidate for York Central, and he is currently the Corporate Communications Director at Tesco PLC. Edward's third book in collaboration with Lord Hurd, DISRAELI, was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, having worked as a research assistant for his biography of Sir Robert Peel, and co-authoring CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS, a history of British foreign policy.