X-Nico

8 unusual facts about David Owen


Frivolous political party

In the UK, the 1990 by-election in Bootle derailed David Owen's new Social Democratic Party after their candidate received less votes than the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Herbert S. Okun

After retiring from the foreign service, he served as chief aide to former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and former British Foreign Secretary Lord David Owen in the talks to end the slaughter resulting from the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Operation Journeyman

The foreign secretary at the time David Owen later claimed that if Margaret Thatcher's government had taken similarly quick action five years later, the Argentinians would not have invaded in 1982 leading to the Falklands War.

Peace plans offered before and during the Bosnian War

In early January 1993, the UN Special Envoy Cyrus Vance and EC representative Lord Owen began negotiating a peace proposal with the leaders of Bosnia's warring factions.

On 20 August, the U.N. mediators Thorvald Stoltenberg and David Owen unveiled a map that would partition Bosnia into three ethnic mini-states, in which Bosnian Serb forces would be given 52 percent of Bosnia-Herzegovina's territory, Muslims would be allotted 30 percent and Bosnian-Herzegovina Croats would receive 18 percent.

Rum ration

Ratings were instead allowed to purchase beer, and the amount allowed was determined, according to the MP David Owen, by the amount of space available for stowing the extra beer in ships.

Sarajevo Tango

The book is dedicated to innocent victims of Sarajevo siege and Bosnian war, moreover, copies of this work have been sent to various politicians, UN and government officials, artists, journalists and celebrities in the world, some of whom being portrayed in it as active participants like UN officials, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Yasushi Akashi, general Lewis MacKenzie, or British diplomat lord David Owen, often under slightly modified name though.

School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge

Dr David Owen, British politician, Foreign Secretary (1977-1979), Chancellor of the University of Liverpool


Ian Montagu Fraser

However he was defeated at the 1966 general election by the Labour candidate David Owen, who went on to become Foreign Secretary.

Warrington by-election, 1981

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was formed by prominent figures on the right of the Labour Party in early 1981, known as the "Gang of Four" – Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Bill Rodgers.


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