George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British Conservative Party politician who is the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He was previously the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was first elected to Parliament in 1992 as the MP for Chingford, and he has represented its successor constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green since 1997. Duncan Smith was born in Edinburgh and served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, seeing tours in Northern Ireland and Rhodesia. He joined the Conservative Party in 1981, and was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1992. Duncan Smith succeeded William Hague as Conservative Leader in 2001, winning the leadership election partly on the support of Margaret Thatcher for his Eurosceptic ideology. Duncan Smith was the first Roman Catholic to serve as a Conservative Leader, and the first to be born in Scotland since Arthur Balfour. In 2010, "The Tablet" named him one of Britain?s most influential Roman Catholics. 

April 9th, 1954 in Edinburgh (Age 70)