However his craggy good looks - he had short sandy hair - and an earnest expression swiftly helped him to become one of his country's most popular leaders and for a time the "?Mr Clean" of British politics.

He also gained in stature during the 1991 Gulf War, which allowed him to display his military experience and diplomatic skills.

Ashdown's image as a family man above the sniping of mainstream politics took a hit in February 1992 when he was forced to admit to a brief extra-marital affair with his secretary.

Having stood down in 1999, he went on to become the United Nations high representative and European Union special representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ashdown described himself as having few gifts other than strong willpower.

"People said I couldn't learn Chinese, they said I couldn't run 30 miles in six hours. This sounds extraordinarily arrogant but I can't remember a thing upon which I've set my mind that I didn't succeed in doing," he said in early 1992.

He was replaced as head of the party by Charles Kennedy who enjoyed further electoral success when he opposed Blair's decision to invade Iraq, and the party under Nick Clegg entered power in a coalition David Cameron's Conservatives in 2010.

It has since been decimated at the polls.

Ashdown, the author of several books, had two children with his wife, Jane.

He had in recent years campaigned alongside Cameron and other leaders for Britain to remain within the European Union. He warned that chaos could ensue if it voted to leave and described Brexit as "a sense of personal bereavement". 

Agencies