Adam Dugdale Fergusson (born 10 July 1932) is a British journalist, author and
Conservative Party politician who served one term in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
as an
MEP. He has remained involved in the field of
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
affairs since, as a Special Adviser to Conservative governments and as a business consultant. Among other books, he wrote ''When Money Dies'', a classic account of
hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic
Hyperinflation affected the Papiermark, German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. The German currency had seen significant inflation during the First World War due to the way in which the G ...
. It deals with not only the economic impacts that hyperinflation had upon society in the Weimar Republic, but also the way that society itself changed. Societal norms were broken down in the wake of hyperinflation, and Fergusson approaches this topic. First published in 1975, ''When Money Dies'' was hailed as a cult classic during the
2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, with copies selling on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
for up to $1,000. As a result, ''When Money Dies'' was republished in July 2010, becoming an internet sensation after allegedly being commended by financier
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
.
Early career
Fergusson is the second son of
Sir James Fergusson James Fergusson may refer to:
Politics
*Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet (1832–1907), Governor of South Australia, New Zealand and Bombay
*Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet (1904–1973), Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire
*Sir James Fergusson, Lord Ki ...
,
8th Baronet of Kilkerran and the younger brother of Sir Charles Fergusson, the present
9th Baronet of Kilkerran. His sister, Alice, is married to
Baron Renton of Mount Harry. He attended
Eton
Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
*Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
*Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...
and
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
where he read History, graduating in 1955. He went into journalism on the ''
Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', working as a Leader-writer in 1957–58 and as Diplomatic Correspondent from 1959 to 1961.
''The Times''
Leaving the ''Herald'', Fergusson moved to ''
The Statist
''The Statist'' was a British magazine. It was established in 1878. From 1878 to 1894, its subtitle was "a weekly journal for economics and men of business"; from 1894 the subtitle was "an independent journal of finance and trade". From 1894 to ...
'', a journal for economists and businessmen. He was Foreign Editor of the ''Statist'' from 1964 until it ceased publication in 1967, afterwards joining ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' as a feature-writer specialising on political, economic and environmental matters. He was at the ''Times'' for ten years, also using his time to write fiction, including ''Roman Go Home'' (1969) and ''The Lost Embassy'' (1972), as well as the non-fiction ''
The Sack of Bath'' (1973).
Anti-devolution campaigning
In the late 1970s Fergusson became active in Conservative politics. As a firm opponent of devolution, he spoke at conferences trying to persuade the Conservatives to oppose the Scottish Assembly; after this campaign was successful, he was a member of the "Scotland Says No" campaign for the
devolution referendum. At the
1979 elections to the European Parliament, Fergusson fought the
Strathclyde West constituency, which had seemed safe for Labour; however, a collapse in the Labour vote saw him elected by 1,827 votes.
European Parliament
For three years, Fergusson acted as spokesman for the
European Democratic Group on political affairs. He supported calls for a boycott of the
Moscow Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...
, arguing that the
invasion of Afghanistan
Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had exe ...
and the internal exile of
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet Physics, physicist and a List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.
Alt ...
showed the two sides of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
: "Aggression without, and oppression within". When
Barbara Castle
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1945 United Kingdom general elec ...
criticised the expenses of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, he described her as "the single most damaging export the United Kingdom has on its hands today".
When in 1982 the European Union proposed that the electoral system for European Parliament elections be changed to the party list, Fergusson led the Conservative MEPs' opposition. He kept up constant pressure on the government of Poland over its crackdown on
Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
, and condemned not only the USSR over the shootdown of
Korean Air Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)In aviation, two types of airline designators are used. The flight number KAL 007, with the ICAO code for Korean Air Lines, was used by air traffic control. In ticketing, however, IATA codes are us ...
, but the Greek government (which had failed to issue its own condemnation). He was a rapporteur in late 1983, bringing in a report which called for European co-operation on arms manufacture; and for a proposal to install an
Empty Chair in the parliament, symbolically waiting for Eastern European countries to be liberated and join the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
.
For 20 years from 1981, Fergusson was a vice-president of the
Pan-European Union
The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is an international organisation and the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Richard von Coudenho ...
.
1984 election campaign
At the
1984 election, Fergusson opted out of defending his seat in Strathclyde, and instead fought London Central where the sitting MEP Sir
David Nicolson
Sir David Lancaster Nicolson (20 September 1922 – 19 July 1996) was a British business executive and politician who played a key role in setting up British Airways and served for five years in the European Parliament. He was also the chairm ...
was standing down. He found it sad that people could vote for an opponent (
Stan Newens
Arthur Stanley Newens (4 February 1930 – 2 March 2021) was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1983, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1999.
Bac ...
), who had opposed EEC entry, but on election day Newens won the seat by 13,000 votes.
Subsequent career
Fergusson was
Special Adviser
Special adviser may refer to:
*Special adviser (Norway), a high-ranking civil servant
*Special adviser (UK)
A Special Adviser, also known as a SpAd, is a temporary civil servant who advises and assists UK government ministers or ministers in th ...
on European Affairs to the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 ...
from 1985 to 1989. He then set up as a consultant on European affairs. Fergusson also continued journalism, and contributed to the rebuilding of the City of
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
(he was honorary Vice-President of the
Bath Preservation Trust from 1997). His polemic, "The Sack of Bath", was first published in 1973 and is a record of how, in the space of a few years, and in the name of modernisation and redevelopment, the city was robbed of its architectural "undergrowth"; and of how ugly new developments wrecked a unique part of the European heritage.
Remaining fully committed to the European ideal, Fergusson derided the Conservative Party's approach to the
1999 European Parliament elections in a joint letter which wished for a manifesto "more like that of the
Pro-Euro Conservative Party
The Pro-Euro Conservative Party was a minor, Pro-European British political party, announced by John Stevens and Brendan Donnelly in February 1999, formed to contest the 1999 European Parliament election. The founders were Members of the Europe ...
".
["Voter dilemmas in Euro elections" (Letter), ''The Times'', 8 June 1999, p. 21.] His novel ''Scone'', a political satire on the effects of devolution in Scotland, was published in 2005.
Personal life
He was married for 44 years to Penelope Hughes (d.2009), with whom he has four children, James, Petra, Lucy and Marcus, and thirteen grandchildren. He lives
in London.
References
*''Who was Who''
*''The Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Adam
1932 births
Living people
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
Scottish journalists
The Times people
Younger sons of baronets
Scottish novelists
Scottish Conservative MEPs
MEPs for Scotland 1979–1984
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Politicians of the Pro-Euro Conservative Party