Adam Smith Institute

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Key people
Dr Madsen Pirie Print E-mail

Dr Madsen Pirie is President of the Adam Smith Institute, and was one of three Scots graduates working in the US who founded the Institute in 1977. Prior to that, Dr Pirie worked for the House of Representatives in Washington DC, and was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Logic and Philosophy at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

At the Institute, Dr Pirie was part of the influential team which pioneered privatization and the extension of market choices and incentives. His work in helping to develop the Citizen's Charter led to his appointment to the Prime Minister's Advisory Panel from 1991-95.

A graduate of the universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Cambridge, Dr Pirie is author of several books including The Book of the Fallacy, Micropolitics, Privatization in Theory and Practice and Blueprint for a Revolution. With his colleague Dr Eamonn Butler, he has co- authored a series of books on IQ, including The Sherlock Holmes IQ Book.

The Institute itself remains at the forefront of a worldwide movement towards competitive free markets and free trade.

 
Dr Eamonn Butler Print E-mail

Dr Eamonn Butler is director of the Adam Smith Institute, an influential think-tank which for more than twenty years has designed and promoted practical policies to promote choice and competition in the delivery of essential services. Independent and non-partisan, the Institute was at the intellectual leading edge of the UK debate on privatization, including the sale of state enterprises, the commercialization of government agencies, contracting-out of local services, and the introduction of internal markets in health and education.

Dr Butler's work on social and economic issues have taken him all over the world as a lecturer and consultant.

Having graduated from the University of St Andrews in the 1970s, Dr Butler worked on pensions and welfare issues for the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. Returning to the UK, he served as editor of The British Insurance Broker monthly before devoting himself full-time to the Adam Smith Institute, which he helped found.

Dr Butler has degrees in philosophy, economics and psychology, and is author of academic books on the work of three of this century's leading economists, as well as co-author of a number of books on intelligence and IQ testing.

 
Tom Clougherty Print E-mail

Tom Clougherty is Policy Director at the Adam Smith Institute, in charge of the Institute's publications programme and media relations.

As well as editing the ASI's popular blog, he has written a series of briefing papers for the Institute, including A Parliament for England and Depoliticizing the NHS. His research interests include globalization, public services and government reform.

Before joining the ASI, Tom was Research Director at the Globalisation Institute, where he edited and co-authored two influential reports: Microfinance: harnessing enterprise to fight poverty and Positive Environmentalism: A Convenient Truth

Tom has a degree in law (and a blue in golf) from the University of Cambridge.

 
Philip Salter Print E-mail

Philip Salter is the ASI's development director, in charge of fundraising and subscriber relations. Before joining the ASI he worked for Liam Fox MP, the shadow defence secretary, and for a small business consultancy in London.

Philip studied history at UCL, focusing on political thought and, in particular, the British radical enlightenment. He also has a masters degree in International Relations from LSE, where he focused on issues of state sovereignty and the European Union as a political actor.

His interests include tennis (a sport he used to coach), food and wine.

 
Steve Bettison Print E-mail

Steve is currently the Operations Director at the Institute. He is in charge of the event organization and management, graphic design, as well as the day-to-day functionality of the office.

Previously within the ASI he has also worked as the editor of all publications and reports, and overseen the accounts. Steve is a regular contributor to the blog.

He is a graduate in Modern History and is currently studying for a Masters in Political and Social Theory.

 


About the ASI

The Adam Smith Institute is the UK's leading innovator of free-market economic and social policies. Politically independent and non-profit, the Institute promotes its ideas through reports, briefings, events, media appearances, and its website and blog. For further information, click here.

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