The Rt. Hon. Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG., KBE. (Paddy Ashdown) was a Royal Marine 1959-72, Liberal MP for Yeovil 1975-2001, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988-99 and High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2002-06. A gifted polygot, he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and other languages