Sir Michael William Hirst (born 2 January 1946) is a former Scottish

Conservative and Unionist Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...

politician, chartered accountant and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

consultant, company director and past president of the

International Diabetes Federation The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an umbrella organization of over 230 national diabetes associations in more than 160 countries and territories. The Federation has been leading the global diabetes community since 1950. It is headqua ...

Early life

Hirst studied at

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Before entering politics, Hirst had a career as a chartered accountant and partner in Peat Marwick, now

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

Political career

Hirst fought several elections before being successful. In February and

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôc ...

1974 he stood at Central Dunbartonshire without success. At the 1979 general election he contested

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bea ...

but was again defeated. He was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Strathkelvin and Bearsden at the 1983 general election, but lost the seat to Labour's Sam Galbraith at the 1987 election. He was PPS at the Department of Energy from 1985 to 1987. He attempted to retake Strathkelvin and Bearsden in 1992 election but was beaten again by Galbraith, the same year he was knighted. In 1997 he was forced to resign his position as Scottish Conservative Chairman and Westminster candidate for the seat of Eastwood, in the wake of revelations about his private life, as he had had several previous homosexual affairs with other, younger Scottish Tories.

After Parliament

Hirst was subsequently the President of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association from 1989 to 1992 and Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1993 to 1997, having been vice-chair 1987–1989. He was knighted in 1992 for political and public service in 1992. He is chairman of the Scottish Division of ISKB, and a member of its Council. Hirst joined Pagoda Public Relations in 1998 and was appointed chairman in 2000. He attained his MCIPR in 2003.http://www.pagodapr.com/webpages/biog_hirst.htm archived at
/ref> He is chairman of Millstream Associates Limited, Aberdeen. He was made a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

in 2004. He was the first non-medical chairman of the board of trustees of

Diabetes UK Diabetes UK is a British-based patient, healthcare professional and research charity that has been described as "one of the foremost diabetes charities in the UK". The charity campaigns for improvements in the care and treatment of people with d ...

from 2001–2006 and was elected Vice President of the

in 2006, serving in that position until he was elected President-Elect in 2009. He took up office as President at the end of 2012, serving until December 2015.

Personal life

He has two daughters and one son with his wife, Naomi Ferguson, whom he married in 1972. In his spare time he enjoys

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

hill walking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

. He is a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the Western Club in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

References

* Times Guide to the House of Commons 1992 * Lexis Nexis * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Michael 1946 births Living people People educated at the Glasgow Academy Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Knights Bachelor Scottish accountants Scottish Conservative Party MPs Scottish public relations people UK MPs 1983–1987 Alumni of the University of Glasgow Place of birth missing (living people) Scottish Presbyterians LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Scottish LGBT politicians