Ashdown, Paddy (1941-...), has served as the United Nations high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2002. In that post, he helped the country recover from its war of independence in the 1990's. Ashdown led the United Kingdom's Liberal Democratic Party from 1988 to 1999. He became the first leader of the Social and Liberal Democratic Party after the Liberals and Social Democrats merged in 1988. The party is now known as the Liberal Democrats. Ashdown served as Liberal spokesman on trade and industry until 1987, when he became education spokesman.