Over the past year – prompted primarily by the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth – we sought to map Otto von Habsburg’s British connections. As part of this endeavour, we had the privilege of meeting Adam Fergusson personally on the margins of our June event in London. The former member of the European Parliament graciously received us at his London residence, where, in the course of a long interview, he reflected on his public service career and shared invaluable perspectives into the political landscape of Britain and Europe during the later phases of the Cold War. The discussion provided a compelling exploration of the first directly elected European Parliament’s inner workings and power dynamics, highlighting the roots of contemporary challenges to European integration, particularly Brexit, and their lasting impact on the continent’s trajectory. The meeting unveiled not only the captivating personality of a prominent figure in the European conservative iconostasis but also that of a true Renaissance man; Fergusson’s home reflected his profound appreciation for the fine arts and music, which beautifully complemented his political and intellectual insights.
Adam Fergusson and Otto von Habsburg, Loch Lomond, Scotland, around 1983
Photo: Otto von Habsburg Foundation
“In my proposed resolution to dispose of an ‘empty chair’ in the plenary hall [of the European Parliament] to symbolise nations within Europe temporarily unable to exercise their sovereignty, Fergusson has been a staunch ally. As rapporteur for the resolution, he fully supports this initiative,” Otto von Habsburg noted in a 1980 report to members of the International Pan-European Movement. The gesture, aimed at symbolically representing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet control, highlights the importance of Adam Fergusson’s support. During his five-year tenure in the European Parliament, Fergusson played a vital role in advancing many initiatives closely aligned with Otto’s vision for a united and free Europe.
Born in 1932, Adam Fergusson, much like Otto von Habsburg, regarded public service as a vocation, deeply ingrained from an early age. His family’s legacy of civic engagement, spanning centuries of active participation in Scottish and British public life, profoundly influenced his political formation. Among his closest ancestors, his father, Sir James Fergusson, served for two decades as Keeper of the Records of Scotland and as Lord Lieutenant of his county. His grandfather, Sir Charles Fergusson, was Governor of New Zealand, while his great-grandfather, Sir James Fergusson, had a distinguished parliamentary career, served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and later at the Home Department, and held governorships in New Zealand, South Australia, and Bombay.
Fergusson pursued his higher education at Cambridge University, earning a degree in history before beginning his career in journalism at prominent British newspapers. Initially focusing on economic and foreign affairs reporting, he gained broader recognition through two of his books: The Sack of Bath (1973), a polemic writing that reinvigorated Britain’s architectural preservation movement, and When Money Dies (1975), a bestseller on economic history examining the hyperinflation and financial collapse of the post-World War I Germany. The latter gained renewed global attention during the 2008 financial crisis for its insights into the fragility of monetary systems and the political and social consequences of economic turmoil.
Visit of a delegation from the European Hungarian High School (Kastl) in July 1990
Photo: EUROPARL Multimedia
The 1970s brought Fergusson not only literary but also political successes: from 1979 to 1984, he represented the British Conservatives in the European Parliament, having won a traditionally Labour-held constituency. His political credo closely mirrored those of Otto von Habsburg, with a strong focus on human rights, minority protections, and the vision of a united Europe. These shared goals were symbolised by the “empty chair” initiative at a time when the prospect of a common European home seemed a distant dream.
As a prominent member of the European Democrats – the predecessor to today’s European Conservatives and Reformists – Fergusson played a key role in shaping the common foreign and security policies, as well as the increasingly unified European market and institutions. As a member of the Political Affairs Committee (now the Committee on Foreign Affairs), he advocated for a firmer stance against the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist regimes, particularly in response to events in Afghanistan and Poland. At the same time, he was sceptical about the strengthening of economic bonds between the European Economic Community and the socialist bloc. Throughout these efforts, he found strong support from the informal political coalition around Otto von Habsburg, which was instrumental in securing parliamentary backing for several key initiatives. “The cooperation between the four leading figures of the non-socialist factions – de la Malène (Gaullists), Fergusson (Conservatives), and Haagerup (Liberals) – is now so effective that it can almost be described as unified action,” Otto wrote about this inspiring example of cross-party and cross-national collaboration.
Aside from their efforts in Strasbourg, one of the most significant moments in the relationship between Otto von Habsburg and Adam Fergusson took place during Otto’s 1983 visit to Fergusson’s constituency in Strathclyde West, Scotland. Over the course of the two-day visit, Otto met with numerous representatives from the local political and economic elite, captivating them with his charisma, elegance, and humour. In a letter of appreciation, Fergusson wrote: “You have won yourself an enthusiastic and large Scottish following and have genuinely inspired many of the party members with ideas about Europe, which they have never heard – or never understood.”
Photo: Adam Fergusson’s collection
Throughout their collaborative efforts for the cause of European unity, they consistently cautioned against the dangers of a rigid, false dichotomy between the purely sovereigntist (independent nation-states) and federalist (centralised superstate) interpretations of unification. They argued that such polarisation ignored viable and effective middle-ground options for European cooperation – an argument that remains pertinent in today’s political debates.
After his time in Parliament, Fergusson spent five years as a special advisor on European affairs to Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe, working alongside a senior Tory who favoured a closer European integration, despite the sceptical voices from his party and his own Prime Minister. During this period, he did not lose touch with his former ally: Fergusson maintained his active involvement in the Pan-European Movement, where he served as a prominent member and vice president. In a letter written in the early 2000s, Otto once again expressed gratitude to his former ally: “The enlargement of our Union to ten more nations has marked the historic success of all those, who, like you, have worked untiringly for a united Europe, which will mean a great step ahead for all Europeans. Your efforts have not been in vain.”
Hungary, a member of the European Union for over two decades, owes much to the tireless efforts of Otto von Habsburg and Adam Fergusson, whose work played a crucial role in the country’s successful integration into the European community.
The interview with the former MEP offers valuable insights into numerous events and processes that are often overlooked or only briefly touched upon in the biographies of Otto von Habsburg and the available sources on the history of the European Parliament. The edited transcript of the June interview, along with the decades-long correspondence between the two politicians, is now available in the Foundation’s digital archive. Below is Adam Fergusson’s brief memoir, which served as the guide for the conversation in June.
Bence Kocsev
Adam Fergusson adománya_EN
