Douglas Hurd, Baron (born 1930), is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995.
Born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, Hurd first entered parliament in February 1974, as MP for the Mid Oxfordshire constituency. His first government post was as Minister for Europe, and he served in several cabinet posts from 1984 onwards, including Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1984-85), Home Secretary (1985-89) and Foreign Secretary (1989-95). He stood unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party leadership in 1990 and retired from frontline politics during a cabinet re-shuffle in 1995.
In 1997, Hurd entered the House of Lords. Viewed as one of the Conservative Party's senior elder statesmen, he is a patron of the Tory Reform Group, and remains an active figure in public life.
Hurd is a writer of political thrillers including The Image in the Water, and a collection of short stories in Ten Minutes to Turn the Devil.

Prime Minister Simon Russell's personal alarm clock is ticking away, while outside, beyond No. 10, prison riots, bombs in Ireland, corporate blackmail in China and civil unrest in Russia jostle for attention. From the smallest details of the PM's office to the global significance of an international crisis, Douglas Hurd's fine political novel illustrates the political process with real authenticity.
With the narrative momentum of a gripping thriller, The Shape of Ice demonstrates how ominous events can develop from near-invisibility into momentous crises. Set in the near future, the novel eloquently conveys the stress of life at the top of the political ladder - the pressure slowly builds to the point where it distorts judgement and relationships.